TransHuman: Raw Power
by Icy Metal and Frost Blue Roses
Summary: Let's face it: tracking an energy signal that comes and goes at random intervals is a difficult task. But when it stays long enough to be located, it'll lead the Autobots and Decepticons on a race to track down a teen who was unknowingly infused with the Allspark in 2007. Not only that, it's also making her undergo a transformation herself with giant robots trying to win her over.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! Welcome to the first of what will eventually become a part of my all new TransHuman stories! :D This is the first in the series, Raw Power. Enjoy! Please leave me a review to let me know how I did! Reviews are much appreciated!**

**For those of you that read my other human Transformers stories, I'm still going to follow that example to write this story, though there won't be hyperactive five year olds, there will be a bit of crude humor and odd situations in later chapters. This is my first serious Transformers story and the characters may be a little OOC when they appear, so if you could give me advice on how to keep them in character I would appreciate that. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. That right belongs to Hasbro. The only things I own here are my OCs and the plot to this story.**

**Leave me a review! Leave me a review! Leave me a review! Please?**

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Prologue

_"Where do you think you're going?"_

_I ran. Not knowing where I am or where I'm going, simply running blindly down a back alleyway and turned yet another corner before stopping altogether. Pressing my back to the wall, I clutched at my chest in pain, gasping for breath and dared a glance around the corner and, seeing as I outran my pursuer for the moment, I slid down the wall to sit on the ground. My legs felt weak and sore, as did the rest of me, muscles constricting painfully beneath my skin, making me grimace in pain. Gashes and other cuts adorned my body, the worst of them being twin gashes on my left cheek just beneath my eye and a rather nasty cut on my waist occupied by a piece of debris from a destroyed car, several other small bits of debris and metal stuck out of me in other places and a bullet in my leg._

_"You're in pain. Stop running and come out to face me. There's no way you're going to be able to keep this up much longer," the voice called out, the irritation in his voice clearly evident of his tiring from me resisting and giving in._

_He's right._

_I'm not sure how much longer I can last before I collapse from blood loss and a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach made me suspect that he was close to finding me and taking me regardless if I put up a fight. Not that it would make a difference given my severely weakened and exhausted state. Biting back a groan of pain, I forced myself to stand and looked around the corner, pressing a hand to my mouth to suppress any sound when a figure came into view._

_The figure was clearly a man, but I couldn't be sure if he's the one that kept speaking to me. The only thing I could clearly see was the outline of a tall and burly build and some sort of armor protruding off his body in sharp angles and a helmet that seemed to be swept back to the crown of his head in a sort of conical shape and sharp facial feature though I couldn't make them out. A broadsword was drawn and held tightly in his hand, ready to attack should anything prompt such a reaction while his other carried some kind of gun. I watched the man with bated breath, waiting— hoping— for him to continue on his way, but no such luck. As if he could hear my mental pleads for him to leave, he turned to look in my direction hate filled eyes that seemed to glow red._

_"I found you."_

XxXxX

I screamed, jolting in place, my body drenched in cold sweat and tangled in sheets. It had taken me a moment to realize I'm in my bedroom perfectly safe and unharmed. Pulling myself free of the blankets that trapped me, I crawled out of bed and sat on the edge, sparing a glance at the clock that told me it's a little past midnight.

"Riley! What's wrong?!" my mother's concerned voice cried out, the door to my room flying open to allow my parents and brother inside.

For a few moments, I didn't answer, watching them from the darkened corner of my room from where the light flooded in through the doorway before responding. "It's nothing. I'm fine," I mumbled, watching as my family visibly relaxed at the fact I'm not hurt. But that didn't stop them from coming to my bedside and turning on the lamp on the nightstand.

"You woke me up earlier. Were you talking to someone in your dream?" my brother, Isaiah, asked.

"Probably. I don't really remember what I was dreaming about," I replied honestly. Mental images of the red eyed man flashed through my mind, making me wince at the increasingly realistic feeling to the dream. "All I remember from it was that I was injured and running for my life from someone in the middle of a warzone."

"You wanna talk about it? Talking always helps you," Mom asked quietly, bringing me into a hug.

"Riley," Dad murmured, breaking the silence that fell over the room. "Were you dreaming about Mission City?" I didn't know how to answer the question, but it seemed like the most logical explanation. I nodded.

"It's been years. Are you still sure you don't want to talk about it?" Mom asked.

I nodded again, letting out a loud yawn before my family finally wrote it off as a bad dream and left me be, Isaiah lingering at my side a while longer even as I feigned sleep to try and deter him.

It didn't.

"Riley, I know you're not really asleep," he said quietly, taking a seat on the bed beside me. "The parents are gone. You still sure you don't wanna talk?"

"Can't you see I'm trying to pretend to sleep so you'll go away and leave me alone? I said I don't wanna talk about it!" I snapped tiredly, twisting around under the covers to look at him from over my shoulder.

"Sit up."

"Isa," I whined, using my childhood pet name for him, "I'm fine. Go back to bed."

The blonde wouldn't be swayed. "Was it the dream again?" he asked, green eyes scanning my face for any signs that he was right. His eyes searched my blue ones and his head tilted backwards, making a small 'aha' noise as though he found what he was looking for. "I can see the fear in your eyes, Riley. You may have Mom and Dad fooled that you're not having those dreams anymore, but that's a lie; you and I know damn well you're still having that dream. I know you better than anybody, so don't think you can hide anything from me," he said, a hard tone coming to his voice to prove his point.

I sat up, my patience wearing exceedingly thin. "So what if I'm still having those dreams?! Nobody will be able to take away those dreams, Isa, and you know it! Do I still have those dreams? Hell, yes! Every night! I just stopped talking about it," I nearly shouted, drawing our parents back I to the room to break up the impending fight.

"That's enough, you two," Dad said sternly, "Isaiah, leave your sister alone so she can get some sleep." With that, Dad took hold of my brother's shoulder and guided him out of the room, not before bidding me goodnight again and turning the light out, the door closing softly behind them.

Lying there looking up at the ceiling, I groaned softly at the dull thrumming pain against the inside of my chest and rubbed my hand over the spot just beneath my collarbone. Kicking the covers off, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and began my slow, unsteady trek for the door and started upstairs to the kitchen to find something for the pain.

Rifling through the cabinets, I froze, sensing unseen eyes on me and squeezed my eyes shut hearing footsteps walk up behind me.

"I found you," a deep voice whispered menacingly.

I paled, recognizing the voice, but I dared not turn around to see the man standing not two inches away from me, feeling hate filled eyes burning into the back of my head.

XxXxX

"Get away from me!"

Jolting out of his musings, Isaiah clambered out of bed and ran for the kitchen but paused before entering, listening. The shout that drew him had dropped to a whisper, but Isaiah couldn't help but wonder at what he heard. The voice he heard was clearly Riley's, talking to someone. When she would pause in her whispering, Isaiah's ears were met with silence before a gasping sob jerked him into action and around the corner to face Riley.

XxXxX

"Riley? Are you alright?"

I jumped and let out a squeak of fear, flinching away from the voice but relaxed when I realized it was Isaiah. "I'm scared, Isa. So, so scared," I whimpered, leaning into my brother's chest as he pulled me into a hug.

Not two seconds later, Mom and Dad rounded the corner, pausing a moment to take in the scene before them before Mom finally spoke. "We thought we heard something. Is everything alright?" she asked quietly, kneeling down to take me into a hug.

"Oh, my God, I thought he was here," I whispered, fighting back tears as I realized the voice I thought I heard wasn't real.

"Who are you talking about, Riley?" Dad inquired, also joining the group hug on the floor.

"The man from my dreams! _He was in the house!_" I murmured, terror finding its way into my voice and my face, showing just how shaken I am over the dreams I've suffered with since 2007. "Every time I dream, _he's_ there to tell me he's coming to get me!" I sobbed, giving in to the tears that threatened to spill, exposing the sheer terror I felt in experiencing the dream every night and all other emotions I've hidden from the world, unwilling to share them, now exposed to my family, scared and helpless against something I can't stop.

"It's okay now," Isaiah whispered reassuringly, breaking the silence that seemed to stretch on forever. "It was just a dream. There's no man after you."

"How do you know, Isaiah?" I asked him. "The dream felt so real! It's scary!"

The next few hours were spent calming me down enough to sleep again, but it would've been for nothing. Instead, I pretended to have calmed down, but the throbbing in my chest, though dull earlier before my seeming encounter with the man from my dreams, had increased to an excruciating level. Opening the cabinets again, I took out a bottle and read over the instructions a moment before taking out a couple pills and walked down the hallway to the bathroom and shut the door, locking it behind me.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help noticing the fear I saw in my own eyes, dark bruise like rings under my eyes showing just how long I've gone without sleep for and just how little I've had when lucky to have a dreamless sleep. Bright blue eyes that normally hold a happy shine to them is gone, replaced by a haunted look behind them, partially covered by long bangs the color of snow. Most of my hair had been pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of my neck with a few stray strands tumbling down my shoulders. My gaze drifted over my reflection from my hair to my eyes before my eyes wandered to my chest. Tugging at the collar of my tank top down to reveal more of my skin, more specifically, the deformed piece of flesh in the center of my ribcage, I moaned to myself in pain, gently rubbing the deformed section of flesh in an attempt to soothe it.

From time to time, I would feel a small throb from the point of the old injury that's long since healed. I also think the doctors missed pulling something out from it at times when it seems something is stabbing me from the inside. I sighed and popped the pills in my mouth, my eyes never leaving the scar in the center on my chest.

"What's wrong with me?" I moaned out, gripping at my chest when another painful throb hit me again.

XxXxX

"The heck is that?"

"Huh? What is it?"

"There's that burst of energy again."

That got the second man's attention as he got out of his seat to lean over his companion's shoulder to see what's on the monitor. "Are you tracking it, James?"

James nodded, typing furiously on the keyboard, the images on the monitor shifting and zooming in and out of an image of the United States before settling on the southern states and continued until it locked on the coordinates of a small town settled near the Alabama-Florida borderline. "I got it. A small town called Ocean Heights," he said, a triumphant look finding its way onto his face. "I've never seen that burst remain for so long before, Nolan. Normally, it appears for a few seconds and disappears before I can locate it."

"Today's your lucky break, then," Nolan replied, scribbling the coordinates down on a piece of paper before turning to leave.

Craning his neck to watch his partner go, James called him back, asking, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to give this to General Morshower, naturally. Perhaps even our friends would like to take a look at this, too," he answered shortly, before continuing on his way out the door.

XxXxX

"Optimus, Lennox just got word from General Morshower. It seems the energy signal remained strong enough to get a location," Prowl stated, moving to the larger mech's side.

"Where is it?" Optimus inquired, craning his neck to see the police cruiser and more importantly, the data pad in his companion's hand.

"A small town called Ocean Heights. It's along the southern coast on the Alabama-Florida borderline. And according to intel, the burst of energy would appear from time to time and disappear before anybody can track it," Prowl answered curtly. "What are your orders, sir?"

"Send a team out to investigate. If the energy beacon remained long enough for us to find its location, it would also mean the Decepticons can find it as well. We must keep it out of Decepticon hands."

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**Author's Note: How did I do, guys? I think the prologue was getting a little lengthy and I have to have something to write about for chapter one. I must say I find writing for Optimus is daunting 'cause I don't know if I have him in character or not. :P Constructive criticism is welcome!**


	2. Decepticon Spies in Ocean Heights, Pt1

**Author's Note: The prologue was a big success! Three reviews within the first three hours! And I got five more over the course of a couple weeks. You guys make me feel special! :D I gotta say I was nervous about posting the prologue, but with the positive feedback, that's a real confidence booster. Thanks, guys. :)**

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Chapter One: Decepticon Spies in Ocean Heights, Part One

"Hey, Frosty. I thought you were actually kidding about coming to the beach at eight in the morning. During summer vaycay. Why aren't you catching up on sleep at home? Or doodling in your book?" a voice asked, getting me to look up to meet my new companion.

"That's cute, Sunny. If I wasn't serious, I wouldn't be here," I sighed, closing the sketch book in my lap and set it aside. "And, once again, I need a new book."

"Are you even serious? That's the fifth book this week! You might as well buy the craft store's entire supply of sketch books," she said, dropping into the spot next to me and grabbed my book to skim over the pages and the images within and jumped in her seat before rolling her eyes and heaved a sigh. "Riley, these guys you keep drawing are going to give me a heart attack one of these days, I swear. What the hell is this guy supposed to be? A young Mathew McConaughey as a vampire?" she asked, turning the book around to show a man no older than twenty with silver hair and ruby red eyes adorned in some sort of alien gladiatorial armor and cape. I shuddered.

"Seriously? Young Mathew McConaughey? I oughta shoot you for that," I said, snapping the book shut. That didn't deter my friend from opening it again, though.

"I can't help it! And who is this? Hello! This guy is hot!" the brunette squealed, making eyes at yet another sketch and tilted it to show two different men, both about the same age as the last image Sunny was looking at.

The image on the left featured raven hair and striking blue eyes to match my own, complimenting sun kissed skin and broad, chiseled facial features. He was clad in thick armor the color of ink and outlined by splashes of chrome, sporting cannons on his arms and a serious look on his handsome face. Scars played across his body and dents and scratched paint on the armor. To me, the most prominent scar he held was the one grazing his right eye.

The second image, however, had slightly narrower facial features and the same blue eyes as the first and shaggy shoulder length royal blue colored hair. And instead of bulky armor, this man's was more aerodynamic with that same bright blue coloring it, accompanied by red markings that crawled up his armor, looking suspiciously like a flame job. The design didn't remain exclusively on his torso, branching off onto his gauntlets, legs, and shoulders, leaving the rest of him exposed to show off well-toned muscles and tanned skin. To complete the ensemble, a simple blue helmet complete with antennae on both sides of his head, just behind the place where his ears were hidden beneath the armor and a battle mask. The only thing that ties every image in my book to each other is the alien glyphs tattooed on their bodies and carved into their armor.

"Wow... you really have a hot boy fetish, don't you, Riley?" Sunny giggled, casting an evil smile at me from over the top of the book. "This one's cute!"

"Shut up!" I barked, snatching the book away from her, a bright blush appearing on my face. "They're just a bunch of drawings! Leave it alone!"

"Those boys... daaaammn! I would go for the Search and Rescue man. What I wouldn't give to be given CPR by that fine looking specimen!" Sunny giggled, green eyes twinkling in wicked merriment as I squirmed uncomfortably over the topic my friend chose to torture me with.

"Can you stop drooling over my book, please? I asked you out here for a reason!" I moaned, closing my eyes and burying my face in my hands.

"Which one would you go for if he was real? I think it would be the one with the black armor and scars. Looks like he's your type. Strong, hot, armed to the teeth with guns," Sunny said, continuing on as though I never spoke.

"Sunny!" I cried out, feeling my patience wearing thin with the brunette.

"Okay, okay! I'm done. No more ogling," she sighed, putting the book down, but kept her finger in between the pages of that picture she was previously admiring. "But if you could give me a copy of Search and Rescue man here..."

"Dude! Focus!"

"Fine. I'm really done this time."

"I had that weird ass dream again," I whispered, watching my friend's smile melt into an expression of concern.

"I thought you were over that, man," Sunny said, scooting closer to me and offered a lopsided hug. "I'm so sorry, Riles."

"Me, too. But... it took on a new twist last night."

"How so?"

"For one thing, he was talking to me. Ever since the dream began, he never spoke to me until last night. And after I woke up, I had that chest thing going on, but it was worse than it was normally and when I went to get something for the pain... I thought the guy from my dream was in the house!" I whispered, my features losing its color in horror of the events from the night before.

Sunny sighed in sympathy, tightening the embrace. "Is he here? In the book?"

I pulled away and began looking through the images within the leather bound book before finding exactly what I was looking for. Even as a sketch, it made him no less scary than he was in those nightmares, in that same pose he was in just moments before I wake up from the dream. "That's him."

"If I had a crazy ass gladiator man chasing me, I'd be scared, too."

"Isaiah isn't leaving me alone about it either. He bugged me about it since he discovered I was awake this morning."

"Come on. Isa loves you, Frosty. He just wants to help you get over the nightmares," my companion stated.

XxXxX

"Lord Megatron, we have eyes on the target."

"Send me a visual. I wish to see my prize from this endeavor," the voice ordered, sounding pleased with the team finding the source of the energy signal. The small group immediately did as told, patching a live feed of the young woman through to Decepticon Command.

"..."

"Megatron? Sir? Are you still there?"

"Starscream... explain why I'm looking at a human," the Decepticon leader ground out. All four of the 'Cons making up the group cringed, sensing the deadly undertones in the forced calm of the larger Decepticon's voice.

"She's giving off large amounts of energy identical to that of the Allspark, Lord Megatron. If she is indeed infused with the Allspark..."

"It would seem that now would be the time to gather more information about this female before moving in. Find out what you can and once you can get her alone, take her." With that the transmission went dead.

"What are you waiting for? Move out!"

XxXxX

Sensing unseen eyes boring into me from behind, I turned in my seat on the sandy ground to find a group of young men heading our way, each of them no older than me and Sunny. All six of them looked as though they came right out of a Manga comic book, featuring hair ranging from black to white and midnight blue and increasingly ripped bodies.

"God have mercy! Hot boys!" Sunny murmured excitedly.

I watched them closely, almost suspiciously, as they passed by, though the leader, the platinum blonde of the group stopped beside me and flashed a smile, showing jagged teeth that I had to force myself not to cringe at. This man's hair is about as long as mine, tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck to show crimson colored eyes and narrow facial features standing out against tan skin. He seemed to be around six feet tall and covered in tattoos that gave me the weirdest sense of déjà vu. _Where have I seen those tattoos before...?_

"Hey," he said finally, snapping me out of my reverie. "The name's Connor."

"I'm Sunny and this is Riley," my friend cut in, clearly trying her hardest not to drool over him. And from it looked like, Connor seemed to be enjoying the brunette admiring him.

"So, Riley, you know of anywhere to eat or something? Me and the guys have been going all night and... well, you get the idea," he said, apparently more interested in paying me attention than Sunny as Connor fixed his unnaturally colored eyes on me.

"MacKeigan's is just down the road. Not hard to miss since there's a big ass sign over the door and it's on the main road leading through the town," I answered, still suspicious of the newcomers to the microscopic seaside town. "You guys here to stay a while or are y'all just passing through?"

Connor seemed to lighten up a little bit at me talking to him at all. "We plan to stick around for a while. Quaint little town you got here." That surprised me a great deal and it must have shown when he proceeded to ask, "Is it that rare for people to come this way?"

"So rare in fact, that it just surprises anyone that lives here to see a new face. People can pass through the town and not even realize it because of the town's size, y'know?"

XxXxX(a few hours later)XxXxX

"Sunny, I swear something was off about those guys. I feel as though I've seen them somewhere before..." I sighed, taking a plate from the counter and carrying it across the room and placing it on a table, receiving a 'thank you' as I left the people to their food in the small diner that I help out in part time.

"Oh, come _on_! Hot guys just blow into town completely ripped and shirtless is something this town needs: excitement and more sexy men!" Sunny exclaimed, leaning further against the counter with a mischievous grin. "I think Connor was made for you or something. You two have that same white hair and all..."

"I oughta kill you right now, girl. Calm yourself," I sighed in exasperation as I came to stand beside her. "The last thing I need is for you to try and push me into the arms of a man that just got here not three hours ago."

Sunny pouted and twisted around to look over her shoulder, green eyes glittering in merriment. "And speak of the devil, there he is now."

Just hearing that alone made me roll my eyes and groan. "Don't tell me that."

As if my friend's thoughts called him inside, the platinum headed man came inside with his crew in tow only to be pushed aside by a green and red blur, shouting something in another language. Bracing myself for impact against the counter, the green blur's arms wrapped tightly around my frame and swayed me from side to side in his excitement. "It's nice to see you too, Lennox."

Lennox, an older Scotsman and owner of the diner, didn't seem to take note I even said anything as he prattled on in his native language. I let this continue, seeing as the man takes great entertainment and pleasure in being in my company and returned the hug before I pulled away to really get a good look at him. His stark red hair was beginning to gray at the roots and his once prominent features had withered away over the many decades of his life, but his green eyes still held that youthful shine and filled with mischief. But then I saw what the man was wearing: nothing but a kilt with a pair of briefs over it, all barefooted, odd looking, and crazy. Just the way he is.

And this is one of his better days, to boot.

I shudder to recall the days his general craziness was at a high considering what he did during those days. What he's wearing now would be considered normal for the loopy old man compared to anything else me and the rest of the town's seen him wear.

"Oh! Riley, me lad, where did you come from?" Lennox grinned, apparently not even realizing (remembering) he pulled me into a hug. And it also seems he forgot I'm a girl again, as well. "You damn near scared me a fright."

"That doesn't make sense, Lennox." I didn't bother calling him out on his mixed up pronouns and confusing one sex with the other. "What happened to your shirt and shoes?"

Here, the elderly man frowned as he glanced down toward his feet before a smile cracked his face again. "Come to think of it... I don't recall putting them on!" he declared finally.

"Trust me, we can all see that," Connor snapped, eyes narrowing menacingly at being shoved aside by the excitable Scotsman.

"Oy, who do you think ye are speaking like that, young lady?" Lennox snapped back and I sighed.

"New guy, do yourself a favor and don't try anything stupid with him. Lenox MacKeigan is Ocean Heights' local old coot. Just a few cards short of a full deck if you know what I mean," I said, taking the older man by the arm and directed him towards a table with a protesting Lennox before I set off to work again.

"Hey, waitress, you gonna take our orders or not?" the midnight blue headed young man snapped at me and I narrowed my eyes at him challengingly. Normally I tend to pick my fights, but I'm not going to get spoken to like that.

Taking up a pitcher filled with iced tea, I plastered a sickeningly sweet smile on my face and made my way to them before promptly dumping the amber colored beverage over his head, getting rewarded with an outraged shout. "First off sunny boy, if you want to live to see tomorrow, you don't demand things from me. Secondly, this is your mess, so clean it up," I said mock sweetly with a cheeky grin as I turned away to wander back to the counter before the wet teen grabbed my arm from behind and I stiffened. Images flashed through my mind's eye of a sixty foot tall monstrosity with glowing amber eyes tearing through a military base before images of the same giant being rampaging through a city during what looks like a battle raced through my head. Snapping out of it, I ripped my arm away from him and ran out the door and didn't stop till I reached my secret hideout.

XxXxX

"Morning, Chief," I sighed, moving past a cluster of vehicles to a rusted out Jeep I had moved out of a scrapheap into the group it now sat in. Climbing into the driver's seat, I kicked my feet up on the dashboard and heaved a sigh and closed my eyes. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had today. I can't help but feel like something is going to happen and soon," I whispered, reaching out to run my fingers over the dashboard and moved to grasp the wheel. As I sat there, I couldn't help but feel like something— or someone— is watching me and turned my eyes out the windshield and glanced around the other vehicles I had arranged into a semi-circle and scrutinized each of them. Seven other cars and trucks sat alongside Chief in the arrangement, from the cherry red '74 Peterbilt to the armored truck with the word SWAT written in bold screaming letters on its side and the Black Hawk sitting next to it, dormant and rusting like the others. Next in line was a vehicle that looked suspiciously like a tank and a pair of old sports cars of the same make and model, the only difference being one is a light shade of blue and the other royal blue. Last in the group is yet another Jeep but of another model, but of the same Army green color.

As always, Chief didn't respond, but I couldn't help fancying the Jeep could hear me though. I sighed, tracing the outside of the wheel before catching sight of something I never noticed before: a small symbol etched into the center. I frowned, not recalling seeing it before and touched it, getting the same thing that happened with the young man in the diner with Chief. Similar images flashed through my mind's eye from epic battles to a stormy night and an injured giant hobbling through the junkyard and shifting his body into the vehicle I now sat in. I jerked away again, removing my hands and feet from the dashboard and tumbled, rather ungracefully I might add, out of the Jeep and onto the ground beside it.

"Oh, my God." That as the only thing I could manage to say. Climbing to my feet, I watched the car for a moment before I turned to regard the others, curious. _I wonder..._

Moving to the next vehicle in the lineup, I gently brushed my fingers along Crimson Flame, the Peterbilt, and got the same results as I did with Chief and saw just about as much about battles and hiding in junkyards, ending with the crazy shape shifting I had seen with Chief. I proceeded to continue on this little path for a while with Metal Storm and Mechafire, the twin sports cars (Metal Storm being the lighter colored and Mechafire the darker one, respectively), to Backwoods, the second Jeep in the group, to Whirlwind, the Black Hawk helicopter, and Warsaw, the big ass all-terrain vehicle, and finally, Shock Burst, the SWAT truck who was rather aptly named since I touched it I got the mother of all shocks that knocked me flat on my ass.

"What the hell is going on here?! That's never happened before!" I asked myself, turning in a circle to watch all eight of the cars and trucks I assembled in bewilderment before I made to leave, brushing by arm against Crimson Flame and jolted, watching as a burst of energy washed over the massive truck and branched out to the other seven. Stunned from the contact and energy burst, I found myself falling backwards in utter shock as the vehicles began reconfiguring themselves into giant mechanical beings, towering over me by several stories.

XxXxX

"Optimus! We have contact! Eight Autobot signals just showed up on radar," Hound called out, craning his neck to see his leader on the other side of the room speaking with Lennox.

Turning to face the now excited scout, Optimus answered him with the question of: "Where are they?"

"Ocean Heights. More specifically, the opticsore known as the junkyard just outside the town. Not only are there eight Autobots in the area, they popped up a moment after another burst of energy appeared in that spot," he answered curtly, turning back to the large screen he was working with.

"Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz, Bumblebee, and Gun Metal are en route now. They should arrive very soon. Good thing too. Decepticon energy signals arrived in the area not too long ago," Prowl added, not even bothering to look up as Optimus came to his side to observe the incoming information.

"Contact the team and relay the information. It's better for them to know what they're going to be dealing with upon arrival," Optimus ordered, receiving immediate responses as every Autobot within audio range scrambled to do as ordered.

XxXxX

::Ironhide, there's been a slight change in plans.::

::What now, Hound? Don't tell us we have to turn around and head back:: the large black mech groused, annoyed at being bothered by the environmentalist back at the base.

::Don't be like that, Ironhide. At least you're able to get out and drive and not stuck on the base like me:: The weapons specialist could practically hear the grin in the other Autobot's voice and that didn't help Ironhide's mood in the slightest. ::The change in the plan involves new Autobot signals in a junkyard just outside Ocean Heights and another burst of Allspark radiation. Be careful out there, Prowl detected Decepticons in the area as well, so you may be getting into a fight in the near future. Let the others in on the plans and be sure to get in contact with the new guys. Hopefully, they'll be able to assist in finding the source of the Allspark radiation.::

XxXxX

"Hoo, boy, what a wake-up call. I don't remember asking for one of those," one of the newly formed mechanoids muttered. I recognized the light blue paintjob, though, and simply gaped at what I was seeing instead of responding to it.

"Oy, none of us care if you came out of stasis with a brand new paintjob. Pit, no one here cares if you came out of stasis with rust in your aft," another one, Chief, I realized, groused at the younger mech.

"Oh, hey! A local! Hi!" Whirwind exclaimed, pointing me out to the rest of the group, getting me pinned under the heavy gazes of alien eyes. Even Crimson Flame reacted to my presence by stepping away from me just to get a look at me, though remaining close enough he had to crane his neck all the way down to see me.

"..."

"What's the matter? Can't speak?"

"I bet it can, but it's been frightened by your ugly face!" Mechafire said casually, snickering along with his brother.

Finally coming to my senses and remembering I'm practically standing underneath Crimson Flame, I did the only thing I could think to do: I screamed. The sound was enough to startle the mechanoids and jumped backwards, making the ground shake with the heavy movement. Turning on a heel, I bolted out of the junkyard faster than I ever thought I could move in my life, faintly hearing Crimson Flame call out to me in an attempt to get me to return.

I never stopped once until I got to my home and ran straight for my room and slammed the door shut behind me. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" I panted, tossing myself onto my bed and curled into a ball in the corner where the bed met the wall, still not believing what I just saw.

"Riley? What's the matter? You act as though the Devil himself is out to get you," Isaiah asked, letting himself into the room and came to my side to pull me into an embrace.

"Robots! Chief—! Crimson Flame! They're all...! They all...!" I cried out, unable to string a coherent sentence together in my panic, Isaiah taking it as his cue to put a hand over my mouth to shut me up.

"Slow down, Frosty. What about robots?" Isaiah asked, looking more puzzled than enlightened at my rambling explanation.

"They turned into robots! All of them!" I cried out, pushing my brother's hand away from my mouth to speak clearly.

My older sibling, however, still didn't grasp what I was trying to tell him and replied with: "And here I thought your imagination couldn't get any wilder. Every day, I'm proven horribly wrong. First it was the gladiator chasing you around, now big ass robots in the junkyard. What next? Lennox wearing sensible clothing and calling you a girl instead of a guy?"

I scowled. "Let's not get crazy."

"Well, what you're trying to tell me sounds a little crazy, Riley," he shrugged.

"You know what? Fine! I'll prove it to you!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Don't ya just love those things? With things picking up the pace a bit and the appearance of Decepticons and Autobots, now you'll have to stick around and find out what happens next!**


	3. Decepticon Spies in Ocean Heights, Pt2

**Author's Note: Wow! I'm on a roll with this story! :D I'm writing these chapters at a pace that astounds even me. XD**

**Anyways, as you've noticed, all the Transformers that showed up so far are bishounen (basically, hot guys). X3 Can't help myself fantasizing about them looking totally hot. Now comes a bit of crude humor, courtesy of me and the weirdoes that make up my family. :D**

**To answer the question of 11guest11, if you came back to read the story again like I'm figuring you did, the names you're not familiar with are OCs. Gun Metal, Crimson Flame, Mechafire, Metal Storm, Chief, Warsaw, Shock Burst, Whirlwind, and Backwoods are my OCs and I'm sure you figured all the humans you don't recognize from the movies are OCs as well.**

**If you have any questions regarding the story, feel free to leave it in the reviews or send me a PM and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.**

**On with the story! :D**

* * *

Chapter One: Decepticon Spies in Ocean Heights, Part Two

Grabbing Isaiah's hand, I forced myself to get back up and out the bedroom door, grabbing my keys as we went and headed out to the driveway where my truck sat in waiting for us. Here, Isaiah stopped beside the large truck and watched me skeptically. I sort of figured I would hear about how I don't need the large dual colored Ford that I owned seeing as everything is within walking distance of our home, but I couldn't care less. The blue and white vehicle was my way of escape from the town when I needed space and I would often get a chance to haul heavy loads from here to other towns and the junkyard.

"Riley..."

"Please just get in the truck, Isa! I'm freaking out right now! There's all sorts of crazy stuff happening today and I need you to just shut up and listen for one moment!" I shouted at him, getting rewarded with hands in the air with a look of utter surprise as my older sibling climbed into the passenger seat. I felt guilty for snapping at him like that though. I never yell about anything unless I really get mad or if something like those dreams scare me enough to keep me up for days on end.

I simply stood there for a moment watching Isaiah before following his lead and got into the driver's seat and keyed the ignition. "I'm sorry."

This seemed to surprise my sibling even more as he turned to look at me. "Today really _is_ an interesting day after all. First, you're yelling at me about going for a ride to the junkyard and now you're _apologizing_ for yelling at all. There really is something going on in Ocean Heights," he said, that look of surprise seemingly stuck on his face.

"Tell me about it. Not only is there weird stuff going on, but now people are showing up here and planning on sticking around, Isa. One of them is trying to hook up with me," I whispered, catching sight of the platinum blonde young man from this morning with his posse in tow, crowded together on the curb on the other side of the road, watching me with interest.

"Okay, now I'm weirded out. We were heading to the junkyard, right? What's going on there?" Isaiah murmured, spurring me to finally maneuver the truck out of the driveway and onto the street and down the road to the junkyard, only taking about twenty minutes to drive the entire way there.

Weaving in and out of the piles of junk and rusted cars, I led my brother to where the cars-turned-robots sat only to find an empty space where the vehicles once were.

"That's impossible! They were here!" Turning to Isaiah standing behind me, I could see an appraising look on his face as I circled the area, searching for the vehicles.

"... You hang out in the junkyard, Riles? Can you explain why that is?" he asked. "I don't see any robots around here."

I groaned loudly, exclaiming, "Don't look at me like that, Isa! I know what I saw! And it's quiet out here... easy to hear myself think. Don't judge me!"

XxXxX

"Finally! I never thought we'd get here!"

"Shut up, Bumblebee. You kept breaking speed limits and getting caught up in wild goose chases with the local law enforcement," an older boy barked, delivering a whack upside the head. He sighed and shoved his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before straightening out his shirt and took lead in the group.

Bumblebee paused a moment and looked back at the group. "I wonder why they kept insisting I get taken to the station and call my parents, Ratchet."

Ironhide barked out a laugh. "Probably 'cause every time they pulled you over, there was a hologram of a ten year old child in the driver's seat."

"You sent one of the officers to get a mental evaluation after that stunt that involved a hologram of a strawberry the size of Ironhide's vehicle mode," Jazz joined in, letting out a laugh of his own at the expression on the officer's face, pausing only when Bumblebee let out a gasp.

"C'mon, Ironhide! Let's go swimming!" the blonde child cried happily, racing back to grab the man's hand and began tugging on it excitedly. "C'mon! Let's go! Swimming, Ironhide!"

"No. How 'bout this instead: go poking around Ocean Heights and find the new mechs and the source of the Allspark's signal," the raven headed man deadpanned, removing his hand from Bumblebee's grasp and continued on his path toward one of the shops lining the road, pausing only when a large Ford pickup truck pulled up along the curb in front of a shop identifying it as MacKeigan's and watched a couple, a young man and woman, exit the vehicle.

"Oh, now we're talkin'. You don't normally see chicks drivin' trucks like that," another man in the group, Gun Metal, drawled out, eyeing the blue and white truck appreciatively. "Why don't we go say 'hello', boys?"

XxXxX

"Riley, me lad, got customers! Hop to it as though the Devil 'imself an' itself is on ye!" Lennox shouted over the music being played over the jukebox nestled in the corner of the establishment. That kooky old man picked it up from the junkyard the day I started helping run the diner years ago, playing one specific song a day and today happened to be '_Witch Doctor_' by The Cartoons.

"On it, boss man," I called back, turning to grab a few menus to hand out and nearly dropping them on seeing the group standing in the door. It was a rather odd assortment of people, a dark skinned young man that looked as though he belonged in L.A., a medic, a child, and a pair of cowboys. What's worse is each of them look like models for Abercrombie and Faded Glory and the child with them didn't help with their appeal to me at all. Each man wore a different expression from calm to somewhat grim to being about ready to explode from excitement.

"Hi!" the child exclaimed happily, snapping me out of my stupor.

"Oh! Um... hi," I managed after a moment more of watching the newcomers, particularly the grim looking black haired cowboy, locking eyes with his astoundingly blue eyes before I forced myself to look away from his face and lead them to an unoccupied table. "What can I guys you boys to start off with?"

"Well... I'd like a tall glass of you, honey," a dirty blonde drawled out, giving me a charming smile.

I blushed at the implication to his words. "Sorry, there, Lone Ranger. I'm not on the menu. We got tea, water, coke, and beer. Take your pick," I stated, pulling out my notepad and pencil.

"The child and I will have water. What these three glitches will get is questionable," the medic answered immediately, casting a deadly look at the cowboys and wannabe movie star. I blinked.

"Did you call your friends... glitches?" I asked slowly, closing my eyes and sighed as the song of the day began to play again.

"It's better to call them that instead of something else. I wouldn't want the child picking up on it," the medic said.

"Okay, then... does 'the child' have a name?" I asked, grinning down at the blonde boy who returned the smile watching me with his impossibly blue eyes.

"Chris," he said cutely, reaching up to shove a piece of hair out of his eyes before turning to the others and said, "The doctor is Chet Hatchet, Jess Solstice, Aaron Gunn, and Cleatus Tippin."

"Interesting names. Normally I just give my first name and give them my last if they ask for it," I said, glancing over at the cowboy now named Cleatus to see him still staring at me. "What will you, Aaron, and Jess be having? Wait, let me guess...sweet tea for Aaron, ale for you, and coffee for Mr. Hot Shot over there. Am I close?"

"Ooh, honey, y'all hit the nail on the head for me! An' while you're at it, darlin', make it a double shot of the strongest spirit y'all got for Cleatus here. He can get a li'l uptight if ya catch mah drift," Aaron exclaimed, slapping the raven haired man on the back and getting rewarded with a growl and a narrowing of the eyes from his companion.

"Make it tea for me, too. Having Chris here, I'll need all the help I can get," Jess chimed in, flashing me a charming smile of his own before I could get away to begin getting their drinks.

"For future reference, Lone Ranger, the name's Riley. Not 'honey', not 'darlin'', not 'sugar'; Riley. Got it memorized?" I stated, leveling him with a stare that made the dirty blonde shift around in his seat and got a muttered 'yes, ma'am' from him, but it was low enough I couldn't hear him say it over the music continuing to play over the jukebox. With a satisfied nod, I turned on a heel to leave them to go about my job.

XxXxX

Once Riley was out of earshot with the group, Ratchet turned to face the younger boy sitting next to him with a look of incredulity and a bit of anger. "'Hatchet', Bumblebee? I wonder where you picked up on that name," he said, glaring across the table at Ironhide who shrugged indifferently.

"I like her. She's nice," Bumblebee grinned, twisting around in his seat to watch the platinum blonde young woman.

"Of course you do, Chris. You like a lot of people," Gun Metal chuckled, letting his eyes rove up and down Riley's body when she wasn't looking at them from over her shoulder. "And hey, it ain't every day that a femme unnerves me like that. The li'l lady's got some brass."

"Shut up, Aaron. We're here to find the source Allspark's energy and the Autobots that arrived without our notice," Ironhide groused, draping a heavily tattooed arm over the back of his seat to appraise their waitress. "You pulling that slag on her will only drive her away. Riley can play a great part in our mission here. She knows the town, the surrounding landscape, and can provide information of anything out of the ordinary."

Ratchet nodded, looking rather surprised the weapons specialist didn't plan to burn the place down and search through the remaining debris. "That's a very good plan. Not only that, but during her short time talking to us, I preformed a few scans on her and found _she's_ the source of the radiation we've been trying to track," he said, having the decency to look away from Riley when she would look over to them.

"So, now what? Find the new guys here and leave? If that's the case, can it wait till after we get to go swimming?"

"You won't let that go, will you?" Ironhide grumbled.

"Guys, we need to focus. Decepticons have been found in the area according to the information Hound sent us. We need to be on high alert. Attempting to take Riley with us will only spur action from Decepticons and will most likely inform them we have what they're looking for and chances are, they're laying low and waiting for a chance to abduct her when she's alone."

XxXxX

The entire time I worked, I felt the collective gazes of the group on me. I would spare glances at them from my shoulder and see only one of them actually try pretending he wasn't looking at me from behind. Aaron, on the other hand, wasn't so subtle in his ogling as he would look me up and down and his eyes zeroing in on my breasts when I turned around balancing their drinks on a tray and made my way back to them. "Okay, two waters, two sweet teas, and MacKeigan's specially brewed moonshine that's so special we hide the kegs when the fuzz shows up," I said, casting a sly smile in Cleatus' direction at informing him of his beverage's specialness.

"Thank you, Riley. I apologize for this one and his... appraising," Chet thanked and Aaron jumped in his seat, letting out a yell of pain and a glare. I simply stood there watching the group for a moment, waiting for Aaron to get settled in his seat again.

"Did you just kick him under the table?" I asked him, watching the brunette carefully.

"I have leg spasms periodically." was Chet's nonchalant reply.

I stood there for a few moments before an idea hit me and smirked. "What's the story, guys? You just happen to stop and find yourself in the smallest town in America? Road trip? What?"

"Road trip!" Chris answered cutely.

"I see," I murmured before asking, "So what's with the matching outfits? Boyfriends, perhaps?" Here, Jess and Chet inadvertently snorted their drinks catching on to what I'm hinting at while Aaron and Cleatus went red in the face with what looks like a combination of anger and embarrassment while Chris remained oblivious.

"Yep!" Chris answered for them, not quite understanding the joke.

"Chris!" Cleatus and Aaron snapped simultaneously. "Shut up!"

"Why? It's true. You're both boys and friends, so you gotta be boyfriends," the young boy said confusedly, innocence shining brightly in his eyes, the joke and implications clearly going way over his head.

"We ain't gay, woman! Why would you ask that?!" Aaron shouted, offended.

I responded with a cheeky grin. "I'm just playing 'round with ya. It ain't often I get to mess with newcomers. To think I get to see two groups of fresh new faces in one day today. An' y'all ain't even met Lennox yet," I answered with equal cheekiness, mimicking Aaron's thick Southern drawl, leaning on the table a bit in between him and Cleatus.

"You have cookies here?! You didn't tell me you have cookies!" the young blonde exclaimed, making me jump in surprise at the outburst.

"Not until you eat something."

XxXxX

"Psst! Chris!"

The boy responded to the sound of his name and twisted around to look at me with curiosity as I beckoned him to the counter. Cleatus, Aaron, and Jess remained where they were, watching and occasionally looking over their shoulders to the door where Chet left.

"You still want a cookie?" I asked him and he nodded with enthusiasm. "Any sign of the Doughnut Patrol?"

"Doughnut Patrol?" the child asked, cocking his head to the side in wonderment.

"Yeah, you know, the law enforcement. In your case, Doc Hatchet," I explained, chuckling when the blonde giggled in understanding. After a few moments of looking and making sure we wouldn't get caught in the act, I quickly handed Chris a chocolate chip cookie and sent him back to the table after a quick informing him "You didn't get that from me."

Not too long after I gave him his treat, Chet had come back in and immediately spotted Chris munching happily away on the cookie and shot me a look that screamed "I know you gave him that." I merely shrugged it off and turned away to deal with other customers and nearly screaming when Connor appeared from behind me.

"Fancy running into you again, Riley," he whispered, almost seductively as he leaned in closer to me.

I responded by placing my hands on his chest and shoving him backwards. "Yeah, right. You and your whacked out friends have been stalking me all day! Get a life and go jump in the ocean or something! Leave me alone!" I snapped, grabbing hold of a nearby beer bottle from one of the customers and smashed it against his head, gaining immediate attention from the people watching. The blow stunned him somewhat and he merely shook his head to shake loose the glass and alcohol from his hair.

"Go home, Connor. You're drunk," I grinned cheekily, patting his arm before I physically turned him around and led/pushed the other platinum blonde out the door before giving his ass a kick and throwing the remainder of the bottle at the back of his head. "And stay out!"

XxXxX

"She really doesn't like you, Starscream," Black Out snickered, getting rewarded with a fierce snarl and a string of harsh curses.

"We need to contact Lord Megatron and inform him of the arriving Autobots. She's been pretty taken with them since they arrived. We must hurry the mission along and take her while she's still oblivious to our true nature," Barricade cut in, receiving mutters of agreement from his teammates.

"I don't think that's true, Barricade. When she touched me, that femme got in my head and saw my true form. She saw what I did in Qatar. If she did that with me, who's to say the femme can't do it with any other bot that comes into contact with her?" Black Out interjected, getting the others to quiet down and exchange glances.

"Megatron needs to know of this. Now."

XxXxX

"You, my friend, know just what to say to make a man go crazy, don't ya?" Cleatus smirked, draping an arm around my shoulders as we moved along the shoreline, allowing Chris to burn some energy as he raced ahead of me and the others.

"First off, I don't consider us friends when we only just met a few hours ago. Secondly..." I stopped, reaching for the bag at my side and pulled out my sketch book. Pulling away from the embrace, I turned to face the group and began flipping through the pages before finding a familiar platinum headed young man with red eyes and the page beside it contained a robotic looking being with a triangular shaped body, armed with missiles and hands ending in talons. Glancing up at them, I turned the book for the group to see and the book was nearly ripped out of my hands and torn apart by a very pissed off looking Cleatus just looking at the sketch. "It's obvious you know who he is," I stated. "Who is he?"

"Someone you don't need to get mixed up with," Jess said before anyone else ('anyone else' meaning Cleatus) could open his mouth to say anything.

"I want a name, Jess... or if that really is your name at all," I said suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at him. Looking back to the book, I began going over the pages before finding each of the pictures I was looking for and held the book up again to show each of the images in the book, some showing clearly who was in the pictures and others not so much. "This is you, isn't it?" Each of the young men before me exchanged glances with each other before I continued on flipping through the pages and showed sketches of them alone, clad in armor and covered in alien tattoos. I looked straight at Cleatus and showed him the picture of himself, gaining murmurs among the group as they possibly tried to figure how to explain it away though they knew they couldn't. Tilting the sketch book for me to see it, too, I turned another page to show a close up image of the raven haired young man's face, nailing every detail right down to the placement of scars and tattoos and nearly dropped the book.

"Calm down, Riley. You're going to have a panic attack if you don't relax yourself," Chet warned, inching closer to me should I swoon from the overwhelming information that the seeming fantasy warriors from my dreams were real.

"Don't you _dare_ tell me to calm down!" I screeched, "You and your buddies have plagued me in my sleep for _years_ and you show up just to tell me to 'calm down'?!"

"Riley—"

"Don't! Just don't! Stay away from me!" I shouted, pushing Cleatus away and I ran straight for my truck still parked in front of MacKeigan's. Fishing my keys out of my pockets, I let out a shriek of surprise when a hand slammed itself onto the side of the truck beside my head and another hand clamp itself over my mouth to silence me.

"Come now, Riley," Connor's voice hissed, "Don't tell me you're buying into what they tell you."

"What are you talking about?" I mumbled behind his hand, craning my neck to look the young man in his ruby colored eyes.

"They're lying to you, Riley. The Autoscum pretend they care for all life, but once you're within their clutches, there will be no escape from them without the penalty of execution for deserting the cause," Connor hissed, leaning in to whisper it in my ear, sending chills rolling down my spine in fear. "The Decepticons would welcome you with open arms. You can serve the cause while remaining here without need to relocate."

"Get away from me!" I growled, shoving him away from me and quickly opened the door behind me and pulled the gun hidden under the driver's seat. "Step away or I swear to God I'll put a bullet in your brain. Get!" I ordered, aiming the weapon to the center of his head. The platinum blonde headed young man merely shrugged and heeded my warning.

"Heed my words, Riley. Once you side with them, there's no escaping the Autobots." With those words said, Connor left me to my thoughts, wondering over what he told me.

"Autobots? Decepticons? What's going on here?" I sighed and slid into the driver's seat and keyed the ignition, catching sight of the group, the Autobots, I presumed Connor was referring to, clustered together and watching me. That also led me to presume Connor, or whatever his real name is, belongs to the Decepticons. "This is too confusing. Something is going on and I need to know what. And soon."

XxXxX

"It was a success with contacting her. She's now completely uncertain of what to believe. If we take the girl now, we might actually convince her to swear allegiance," Starscream reported, unable to refrain from sounding pleased with himself for further unsettling her. "And it's as you predicted. The Autobots are here as well. The weapons specialist, the medic, the scout, saboteur, and an unknown Autobot we've not encountered before. What are your orders, sir? The Autobots are closing in on the girl faster than we'd hoped."

"Fall back and observe for now. I wish to see how the child will behave when pushed to and beyond her breaking point. If the Autobots come closer, drive her away and keep her information she gathers of us obscured until I arrive and persuade her myself."

* * *

**Author's Note: Looks to me it's about time to roll out (pun may or may not be intended) the leaders of their respective factions and make things a bit more interesting.**

**I got bonus points for those of you that can actually tell me who's who when I'm referring to them with human names though I'm pretty sure I made some of them pretty obvious. If you get even a few right, then I'll throw in your favorite Autobot/Decepticon in the new chapter but you should also tell me who it is that you're a fan of and I'll figure a way to get them into the mix and get y'all even more excited for the updates! :D**

**Also, in future chapters, we'll be seeing a bit more of Gun Metal, Chief, Warsaw, Whirlwind, Shock Burst, Metal Storm and Mechafire, Backwoods, and Crimson Flame, so be prepared, guys. Things are about to get serious.**


	4. Contact

**Author's Note: I'm back! Okay, so I've been asked in a previous review ('previous review' meaning an anonymous review I got for the first chapter) if Riley will fall for an Autobot and I thought that would make things a bit interesting and add a bit to the suspense of what's going to happen later. So in order to settle the ordeal of pairings, I opened a poll for those of you that are interested in it. :) I need votes, people! I gots to know who you'd like to see get romantic with Riley!**

**Before I forget, KeepingThemAtBay will be rewarded by getting to see Jolt in this chapter since they played along with me by naming every one of the characters I gave human names to, so awesome job with the sort of name game thing. :) I'm not sure if you're aware or not that Jolt made an appearance in Transformers: Cybertron as a Minicon and played a big part in the series. ;) Plus, this story takes place after Dark of the Moon but I'm not really referencing the movie, so far only the first movie since it mentions Mission City and Jolt and other Autobots will make appearances that were in the second and possibly the third but I don't think I could get Skids and Mudflap in character to save my life. So really, this story is kinda AU because Ironhide is alive and was killed in Dark of the Moon (which devastated me to no end since he's my favorite). Just to enlighten you guys a little more about why the crazy Scotsman is named Lennox is that it's a Scottish name... and I didn't really think about it before I put it until after I posted and remembered that Will's last name is Lennox. Oops. :/**

**And before we get started, I must warn you things are going to get more violent (and I do mean violent like blood/Energon spilling, parts that will be descriptive enough to possibly make you hurt where the character is injured, and possibly character death) and suspenseful from here on in, so if I don't update for a while, don't die from the suspense on me, m'kay? From here on in, I doubt the faint of heart will be able to read this from the blood that's about to start pouring? You've been warned.**

**With that said, that's all. Enjoy the new chapter! :D**

* * *

Chapter Two: Contact

During the next few days, I had withdrawn into myself, brooding over what's happened between my drawings coming to life and each group trying to win me over. From time to time that throbbing in my chest would make itself known to me and cause me to keel over in agony and abruptly it would go away. Occasionally when I was made to leave the house, I would have a brush with Connor and his boys and the other group, Autobots as Connor termed them, mostly being Cleatus and Aaron or Chris.

And most recently, I began hearing voices echoing in my head and complex and alien glyphs would flash across my eyes and appear all over the place, a lot of the time taking up whatever writing tool was in my reach and scribble it all over the walls. When I ran out of places to write on the walls, I began to write on the ceiling. I couldn't quite place my finger on where the sudden desire and urge to scribble on things came from but I covered every square inch of space on the walls, ceiling floor and every bit of paper I could get my hands on with everything from pencils to markers and paint and then my arms and legs, sometimes venturing out of my room to the bathroom upstairs and using the mirror to draw the bizarre markings on my cheeks forehead and chest, leaving clear spaces in the crooks of my elbows, the backs of my knees, and the spot just above the scar in the center of my chest.

When my parents saw what I had done to my room, they were less than pleased if not completely baffled by the glyphs covering everything top to bottom. Needless to say I am, too, but when those voices got going in my head and the symbols started appearing, I would just shake my head to snap out of it. That used to work, but over the course of the past two days that didn't work for me anymore and I succumbed to the episodes and it was over, leaving me oddly exhausted and I would sleep.

XxXxX

"What is going on with you, girl? Ever since those hot guys rolled into town you went AWOL!"

I didn't say anything, just sitting quietly as my friend ranted at me about my new behavior. Can't say I blame her, though. A lot of the things she was asking me I was asking myself.

Sunny scowled and narrowed her eyes at the lack of response. "Are you going to say anything? I just wanna know what's going on with you," she said, frustration evident in her voice.

"I don't know! Okay? I... don't know," I shouted, the last part dropping to a whisper as I looked down to my 'tattoos' scrawled all over my body, the latest markings contrasting starkly against the black the other marks took on as a bright blue beneath my eyes, sweeping down into points down to the hollows of my cheeks and back up again and back down only stopping an inch below my eyes.

"Riley..."

"I don't want to hear it, Sunny. Don't ask for an explanation because I can't give out one," I cut her off, shutting my eyes and heaved a loud sigh. "I'm so scared by what's happening and the way those boys are looking at me isn't helping. There's something about them that don't sit right with me at all." Looking up to my friend's face to gauge her reaction and found nothing much has changed. That same look of bewilderment was stuck on her face as she watched me.

"Riley, I've been lookin' everywhere for ya the past few days. Where'd you disappear to?"

Speak of the devil.

The voice got us to look up and acknowledge the arrival of none other than Cleatus Tippin, wearing an almost completely unbuttoned ice blue button up shirt and cowboy hat in hand, his eyes locked onto me with such an intensity that made shivers roll down my spine. Just like the pictures I had of him in my books, scars and tattoos covered his broad chest and torso, the latter caught my interest as a lot matched the ones I covered myself with.

"Oh. My. God."

Sparing a glance at Sunny, her eyes were wide as saucers taking in the older teen in front of us and looked at me. "Isn't that guy—"

"A drawing in my book? Yes, he is. All that's left is figuring his actual name," I finished for her, turning back to Cleatus and narrowing my eyes suspiciously at the raven haired young man.

Cleatus didn't even blink an eye at my behavior, instead choosing to inspect my arms. "Nice ink. What inspired tattoos such as that?"

"What does it matter where I got the inspiration?" I snapped. "I don't need to explain myself to you like you don't need to tell me why you're hiding a gun in your pants."

That did it.

Cleatus and Sunny exchanged glances and a blush appeared on the latter's face while a sort of smirk appeared on former's with an equally wicked gleam in his eyes to match. "Of course he's hiding his gun! Why would anyone want to put _that_ on display to the public?!" Sunny squealed, and I instantly caught onto the evil smile spreading across the young man's face. I scowled.

"Not _that_ kind of gun! He's got a .40 caliber pistol hidden under his shirt. I doubt the bulge is there because he's happy to see me," I snarked, turning to him as he pulled his shirt up and pulled out the weapon I correctly identified in his hand.

"That's impressive. Tell ya what, if you can find out where the other forty weapons I got concealed on my person, I'll let you keep this," he drawled out, turning the gun around in his grasp to show it off.

I snatched the offered weapon from his grasp to examine it myself, admiring the craftsmanship that went into creating it. "So you like your guns, do ya, cowboy? It's a nice piece... does it come in adult size?" I asked him, the last the question making him look about ready to have an aneurism from me picking at him with his fascination with weaponry.

"Girl, you're just upset 'cause you can't handle this kind of firepower," Cleatus said, his already deep voice dropping an octave and narrowed his eyes at me, a menacing light shining behind his blue eyes. I returned the look, unafraid of the unspoken challenge.

"Stupid boy. I can handle guns better than anyone here, possibly even better than you. And if you're challenging me with one of my passions, you're going to regret it," I threatened, getting up to leave the two behind, Sunny looking rather stunned while Cleatus watched with a sort of anticipation to challenge his apparent new rival.

XxXxX

Looking up to acknowledge the black GMC rolling up to join the group, Ratchet gave his teammate a look and asked, "Where have you been? And what's with that obscenely large and idiotic smile?"

Ironhide didn't answer immediately, instead exiting the vehicle and wandered over to stand next to the medic. "Riley likes me. She even called me out for carrying a gun under my shirt."

"Ha! Told you hiding that in your pants wasn't a good idea!" Gun Metal cackled, enjoying watching the weapons specialist squirm.

"She asked if it came in adult size."

The comment made everyone freeze. "She what?"

"Enough of that, Ironhide. There will be plenty of time for you to brag about the size of your gun later. What's your status?" Optimus interrupted, clearly trying to get his subordinates off the current topic.

"The Allspark energy emanating from her is getting stronger by the day and she doesn't seem to want us getting close to her. The Decepticons are already manipulating Riley and keeping her at a loss for what to make of anything anymore. What's more, we've located the new Autobots and they decided to join us for the briefing," Ratchet said curtly, turning to watch the silent group clustered around them.

"Very well. Do they have anything to report?" Optimus acknowledged.

"Optimus, it's an honor, sir. First, let me say that it would be best to keep Riley in the dark about us until it can no longer be avoided. When her power surged, it brought us back online and triggered an involuntary transformation. It's needless to say it frightened her and she hasn't been to see us for days now," Chief spoke, turning to the rest of his team and asked, "Anything you want to add?"

"To add on to Chief's report, Riley is displaying a rather bizarre case of erratic neural spasms and the poor femme starts writing on anything she can get her hands on and I have reason to believe it's the language of the Primes," Mechafire added, getting rewarded with silence on the other end of the transmission before there was a sort of sigh.

"It seems we are on the precipice of having to reveal our true nature to her. I will be arriving with a team for backup soon. Remain at your location and await further instructions. Prime out."

With that, the transmission went dead, leaving the group to begin going their separate ways, Chief and his group to the junkyard and Ironhide and his team to the town to keep an eye on the platinum haired young woman.

XxXxX

The surrounding Autobots that were within audio shot to listen in to the reports paused their current tasks when their leader turned to regard the whole of the team watching quietly. "Prowl, you, Jolt, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are coming with me. The Decepticons are preparing to abduct Riley and even more are en route to her location. We must be quick in handling the situation and get her out of the line of fire," the large mech ordered, already moving to leave the room with his team.

"How many Decepticons are we looking at, Optimus?" Jolt inquired. "Six? Ten? A hundred?"

Prowl beat Prime to the punch and answered with, "For now, there's only eight of them, one of which is Starscream. Blaster contacted me a moment ago and informed me of a transmission to Riley Ashton's cellular device. Normally, I would dismiss this sort of thing, but who it is that's contacting her is what concerns me."

That caught Optimus' attention as he turned to face the stoic Autobot behind him. "Who?"

"Megatron."

The name hung in the air for what seemed like eternity before everything came to life in a flurry of movement and action as the whole of the base scrambled to begin monitoring the transmission and arranging for the team's departure.

XxXxX

As I laid there in my bed staring at the ceiling, I couldn't resist the sigh that passed my lips and closed my eyes. The past few days served nothing to help me but further throw me off about the unusual and gorgeous young men that appeared in town and what they're really doing in Ocean Heights. I didn't want to do anything more than just lay there, listening to music playing softly over the radio sitting on my desk next to a small aquarium, currently belting out "_In The Air Tonight_" by Genesis.

"Something is definitely in the air in Ocean Heights," I muttered, jolting when my cell phone began ringing, blaring a tune of its own, contradicting the slow and melancholy melody. I ignored it, knowing in a few moments the ringing would stop and the upbeat tune of "_Livin' on a Prayer_" would cease. A few moments passed and silence reigned in the room before the cell phone began ringing again. "Oh, for crying out loud!" I muttered, turning over from my spot to get up and retrieve the incessant device and made a face at the caller ID... or lack thereof. I hesitated a moment, wondering whether it was truly a good idea to answer the phone, but I pressed the button and brought the device to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Riley."

I gasped, dropping the phone in shock of the deep masculine voice that greeted me. As though reading my thoughts, the voice chuckled, a dark and sinister sound that made my skin want to crawl off my bones and shivers to go rolling down my spine. Even though the phone was on the ground, it felt like it was on speaker and the unknown man on the other end was in the room.

"Yes, I know who you are. And I know _what_ you are. All I require of you is to listen and I will explain all you wish to know."

Carefully reaching down and retrieving the device, I warily asked, "Who is this?"

"As I suspected you would ask such things first. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons."

* * *

**Author's Note: Couldn't resist giving another cliffhanger! XD But I also need something to write about in the next chapter, so...**

**Please check out my poll and vote for the pairing, guys! Some of the 'Bots I have on the poll haven't interacted with Riley yet, but they will in the upcoming chapters. If a 'Bot you think Riley should be with isn't listed on the poll, leave the suggested pairing in the reviews, please! Thanks, guys! :D**

**Stick around, 'cause the real action and fun begins in the next chapter! Whoo! :D**


	5. Transforming Riley

**Author's Note: So far so good with the poll for future pairings, guys. If you guys have a suggestion for a pairing and the Autobot you want to see with Riley ****_ISN'T_**** in the poll, list his name so I know who you'd like to see with her.**

**I feel it's time to give you guys a sneak peek at Riley's transformation with the Allspark energy a little more in depth and we'll get to see more of Chief and the other Autobot OC's that so far got brief appearances.**

**WARNING: This chapter is the beginning of many more chapters that will be filled with blood, violence, suspense, and near death experiences. ****The blood spilling and violence may or may not get worse in later updates.** With that said...

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Chapter Three: Transforming Riley

_As I laid there in my bed staring at the ceiling, I couldn't resist the sigh that passed my lips and closed my eyes. The past few days served nothing to help me but further throw me off about the unusual and gorgeous young men that appeared in town and what they're really doing in Ocean Heights. I didn't want to do anything more than just lay there, listening to music playing softly over the radio sitting on my desk next to a small aquarium, currently belting out "In The Air Tonight" by Genesis._

_"Something is definitely in the air in Ocean Heights," I muttered, jolting when my cell phone began ringing, blaring a tune of its own, contradicting the slow and melancholy melody. I ignored it, knowing in a few moments the ringing would stop and the upbeat tune of "Livin' on a Prayer" would cease. A few moments passed and silence reigned in the room before the cell phone began ringing again. "Oh, for crying out loud!" I muttered, turning over from my spot to get up and retrieve the incessant device and made a face at the caller ID... or lack thereof. I hesitated a moment, wondering whether it was truly a good idea to answer the phone, but I pressed the button and brought the device to my ear._

_"Hello?"_

_"Hello, Riley."_

_I gasped, dropping the phone in shock of the deep masculine voice that greeted me. As though reading my thoughts, the voice chuckled, a dark and sinister sound that made my skin want to crawl off my bones and shivers to go rolling down my spine. Even though the phone was on the ground, it felt like it was on speaker and the unknown man on the other end was in the room._

_"Yes, I know who you are. And I know what you are. All I require of you is to listen and I will explain all you wish to know."_

_Carefully reaching down and retrieving the device, I warily asked, "Who is this?"_

_"As I suspected you would ask such things first. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons."_

* * *

"Decepticons? You're the one that sent Connor and his boys after me," I murmured, realization evident in my voice.

"You mean Starscream, my second in command."

"Like I give a rat's ass about his actual name. What do you want from me?" I snapped, just wishing that Megatron would just get to his point so I could hang up.

"I want you to join us. With the Decepticons, you will be among people who understand your condition," he said coolly. I felt my eyes narrow in suspicion and pulled the phone away to study it a moment before putting it back near my ear.

"What condition? You talk to me as though I'm an object! Listen here, Jack, I don't appreciate your tone and if you don't get to your point in ten seconds, I'm hanging up!" I yelled, dropping my phone in shock when it began buzzing and the built-in camera turned itself on, projecting a man no older than twenty with silver hair and ruby eyes... dressed in the same garb as the man in my dream.

"Let us call your condition very unique. For now, we will call it the Trans Human gene. Something that appears in one in every two hundred million children born worldwide," he said quietly, a predatory gleam entering his eyes as he drew closer to where I stood. With every step he took towards me, I took a step backwards until he trapped me on my bed, pressed into the corner at the head of the bed. "I've travelled many miles seeking out people like us, Riley. No one will understand you. No one will _want_ you. Your peers will label you an abomination and drive you away once the effects of your condition hit you full force," he whispered, leaning in close enough for me to feel his breath on my neck, sending goose bumps breaking out over my skin.

"You're wrong! You're saying that to drive me away from the only people that ever loved me and make me run to you!" I cried, putting my hands on his chest to push him away only to catch glimpses of his past, from Mission City to the events in Egypt to the even more bizarre seemingly extraterrestrial invasion of Chicago.

Megatron paused, looking down to where my hands made contact with his chest before locking gazes with me again. "That is interesting," he murmured, pulling away to show hand prints on his torso where I touched him. But that wasn't what had me gaping but rather the metal that peered out from underneath the skin.

I could just feel the panic rising in me as I stared wide eyed and brought my hands to my chest, clenching my hands into fists. "Oh, my God!" I yelped, watching as the skin grew back over the places that exposed metal.

"Do you wish to see what the full extent of your condition will look like?" Before I could answer him, Megatron took hold of my arm in a death grip and hauled me off the bed to stand in front of him. Releasing my arm, he held his hands out on front of me, making me scream in horror and surprise when the flesh exploded to allow for metal hands that ended in long sharp talons for fingers to take their place. "This..." he said, indicating his hands as he spoke, "... is but a taste of my transformation."

I stood frozen in place, covered in blood and bits of flesh, completely shocked to the point I couldn't bring myself to do a thing but stand there gaping at the metal appendages. "Oh, God, what is that?!" I finally shrieked, wiping at my face furiously to remove the blood from my face.

"It's nothing to be frightened of, Riley. It's a natural part of your life cycle. Would you care to see what lies beneath your flesh?" he said, reaching out to grab me and I finally reacted, charging at him and threw all my weight against him and managed to push past him to try and get to the door only to get my arm caught and yanked backwards. "Where do you think you're going?" Those words instantly made bits of my dream flash through my mind's eye and I began panicking more and more.

"Let go of me!" I screamed, beating on his arm with my free hand before it was grabbed, too, and I was taken to the floor with Megatron on top of me.

"Don't fight me. It will only make it hurt worse than it needs to," he whispered menacingly, crimson eyes narrowing and seemed to glow in the dimly lit room.

"I said let go of me!" I screamed again, thrashing underneath him, struggling to get free but all motion ceased when my hands began glowing faintly before Megatron was sent flying through the wall, his claws sheering the skin off and leaving deeps gashes in my arms as he went. I sat up, watching the prone for of the Decepticon leader flicker out of existence where the hole in the wall now resided in shock and looked down at my hands, dripping blood on the floor and my clothes. "What's happening to me?!" I screamed, watching my hands in horror and nearly came out of my skin when my door was flung open to allow my brother in.

"Riley! What happened?!" he shouted, coming to my side and froze just behind me, dumbfounded at the blood coating my face, body, and arms. "Oh, my God."

"Don't tell Mom and Dad," I pleaded, looking up at the blonde with desperation and terror, holding my hands away from my body, displaying the metal hidden beneath the skin. The shock was plain on Isaiah's face as he took in my condition and the gaping hole in the wall before he carefully helped me to my feet.

"What is going on?! What happened to your hands?!" he cried, taking hold of my arms just above the metal dripping a mixture of blood and a glowing purplish substance.

"I don't know, Isa. We need to find Chet. He may know what to do," I groaned through gritted teeth in pain as I pulled away from my sibling. Turning to face the hole in the wall, I carefully began stepping over the rubble and moved across the yard to the fence before glancing over to my brother. "Coming?"

"Where are we going? And makes you think this Chet guy will know how to help you?" he asked me, skeptical of my motives but followed after me and opened the gate.

"Chet is one of those boys that rolled into town almost a week ago. He and the boys travelling with him saw my book and they clearly know who everyone in my book is," I murmured, "The people in my book are real."

XxXxX

After slinking around Ocean Heights in search of Chet and the others, we finally found them in the junkyard crowded around Chief and the others.

"Chet, I need your expertise on something." Was my way of greeting them and the brunette turned to regard me with what looked to be an inviting smile... until he saw my hands. Chet's impossibly blue eyes grew large with concern as he abandoned his conversation with Cleatus to examine my wounds.

"What did you do to yourself, Riley?" Chet sighed, pulling away one hand to hover over both my extended limbs and made me and Isaiah jolt backwards in shock as skin disintegrated from the medic's arm and even more metal shifted and reconfigured itself to allow for a device no bigger than his hand. "Don't move. That will only make it hurt worse than you're feeling right now," he ordered sternly and I tried to do as I was told, whimpering in pain as a harmless beam of light passed over the exposed metal that are my hands. I didn't remove my gaze from Chet the entire time he scanned my arms, finding myself very frightened to hear what he had to say.

"What is it?"

"It looks you busted a couple Energon tubes in your arms and there is quite a bit of blood and torn muscles and tissue that needs to be cleared away for me to properly care for it," he said finally, watching me just about as closely as the other boys that made up the group and vehicles. Since I didn't bring anything to help numb the area surrounding the skin still attached to your body, and seeing as I didn't foresee anything like this happening, this is going to hurt like a glitch. Ironhide, Gun Metal, I need you to hold her down and keep her as still as you can," he ordered, his concerned expression turning grim as the advanced on me and took hold of my wrists in a firm but gentle grip.

"You're not going to want to watch this," Ironhide advised and I jerked backwards when Chet began carefully pulling the torn muscles from the metallic appendages.

"Oh, God," Isaiah murmured, watching in shocked horror as the medic worked. "What is happening to my sister?"

"She's got something going on with her, all right," Chet sighed, touching another sensitive part of my arm and I screamed, trying to retract my arms but Cleatus and Aaron (or Ironhide and Gun Metal, as Chet had called them) held me in place. "Please stop moving, Riley. That's only going to make my work harder and hurt worse than it needs to."

"I can't help it," I ground out, turning my head away from the gruesome sight and leaned into Ironhide's body for support. "It hurts so bad! Don't you have anything to dull the pain or something?"

"Yeah, Ratchet, don't you have something for her? Last I checked, you had a sedative on you to get Jazz to go into recharge," Ironhide commented, leveling the brunette with a hard stare.

"It only worked for a few hours. Besides, Jazz is a mech, not a human transforming into one of us," Ratchet snapped, meeting the taller boy's stare with one of his own. "For all we know, if I gave her the sedative, it could kill her!"

"Then give her a smaller dosage!" Isaiah cried out, watching me helplessly as I underwent the bloody bits being removed. "This is my sister! I'm not going to just sit here listening to her screams of pain! You can either give her something or I can take her somewhere else!"

"Fine, then." Ratchet pulled away completely and reached into his other arm to pull out a syringe and pressed it into the crook of my elbow.

The world was suddenly spinning out of control and blurring, making it hard to focus on anything as my vision swam in and out before I succumbed to unconsciousness.

XxXxX

For a moment, everyone stood there watching the prone form being held up limply by the arms between Ironhide and Gun Metal before Ratchet sighed, "Happy now? She's asleep. At least now, I can get my work done."

The blonde finally got himself to do something and sidled up to his sister's side. "Why is this happening to her? Why my baby sister?" he bemoaned, scooping Riley into his arms and held her before the medic coaxed Isaiah to bring Riley into the back of the ambulance to lay down.

"Look, I know this is difficult for you to understand, but you need to let me work. I can give you a whole list of possibilities of what's happening to her but the best I can think of is that she has an Allspark shard embedded in her body and it's been slowly transforming her since 2007 in Mission City," Ratchet said, frustration showing in his voice at not being able to get to work helping the unconscious young woman.

"For the record, my name's Isaiah," Riley's brother stated. "And secondly, if I come back and find you hurt her more than you're helping, I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Duly noted," Ratchet muttered, waving a hand dismissively before Ironhide had to manhandle the worried sibling out of the ambulance.

"Fancy a walk to the beach, Isaiah?" Ironhide asked, though it came out more as a statement than a question. "Ratchet's going to be a while. If you keep pestering him, Doc Hatchet's going to throw himself in reverse and run your ass over."

Sparing one last look towards the caution tape yellow Hummer, Isaiah sighed in submission. "Fine. But when Riley's finished being treated, I want to be here," he requested.

XxXxX

"Someone is going to have to let Optimus know of the development," Jazz said finally, breaking the silence between the Autobots that remained behind to stand guard.

"Yeah, okay," Bumblebee sighed, opening a comlink between him and the Autobot leader.

::Optimus, we've got a problem.::

::Bumblebee, what is happening? I've attempted to contact Ratchet but with no success.:: Optimus' voice carried a tone of worry over the link and everyone knew it.

::It's Riley. The girl we came here for? She's hurt real bad and...::

::And?::

::She's bleeding Energon, sir. Ratchet had to put her under to cleanse the injuries without her fighting him.::

::How did this happen? Did she inform you of it?::

::No, sir. She only made her presence known by asking for the good doctor's expertise for her injuries. Everything just below the elbows were shredded and torn muscles, ligaments... It's not a pretty sight to see. Plus Ratchet has to cut into her arms to repair busted Energon tubes.:: he informed.

::Megatron is about to make an appearance in Ocean Heights and already contacted her over her cellular device. He must have done something to her through the contact and harmed her. I'm en route with a team for backup and we will be arriving very soon. Keep me informed of Riley's medical status and keep her under close surveillance. I will com you again as soon as we arrive. Something big is about to happen if Megatron is going to personally come and make contact. Prime out.::

XxXxX

When I had come to, I found myself staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom. Frowning slightly, I kicked off the covers that had been pulled over my frame and swung my legs over the side of the bed. _How did I get here...?_ I thought groggily, looking to the wall beside my bed, I found there was no gaping hole there anymore. Though the hole was no more, there was evidence of it being repaired and painted over to hide the damage as though it never happened. Giving my head a good shake, I reached up to clutch at my head when a slight throb made itself known in my right temple. "Ugh, I feel like I was hit in the head with a sledgehammer," I groaned to myself, removing my hand but paused to examine the flesh. It looked as though someone had taken the skin on my forearms below my elbows and stretched it out to cover the rest of my arm and hands. Turning on the lamp sitting on my bedside, I could see that there were some sort of stretch marks on my hands and my clothes had changed, further perplexing me.

A soft rapping sound on the door alerted me to company and I quickly turned off the lamp and hid my hands under the covers before telling them they could enter. Isaiah quietly entered the room, concern written all over his face as he made his way to my bedside. "How are you feeling, Frosty?" he asked with equal quietness as he pulled the covers back to inspect my injuries.

"I'm fine, I just have a bit of a headache," I murmured, batting away my brother's probing fingers. "Isa, I'm fine. Honest."

That seemed to appease him as he stood up and helped me to my feet. "That's good. The freaky robot dude said you would be affected by the drug real bad so I've been ordered to watch you for any side effects," he said, disbelief coloring his voice from the memory of encountering the young men in the junkyard.

"How long have I been out, Isa?"

"Two days. Mom and Dad were getting worried that something happened to you," he sighed, running a hand through his hair in the same way he always did when he was unsure of something. "Come on. Let's go inform our parents of your return to the land of the living, shall we?"

I couldn't help being taken aback from what I've been told. "Two days? No wonder I feel hungry," I grinned tiredly at my brother and pushed myself off the bed to follow Isaiah out of the room.

XxXxX

After I had eaten my fill from MacKeigan's, I had headed home to swap out my clothing for my bathing suit and made a beeline for the turquoise waters with an unexplainable giddiness as I kicked off my flip flops and cover up before diving into the water.

The feeling of weightlessness overcame me the moment I ducked my head underwater and I opened my eyes to explore the miniature reef not twenty feet off the shore. From time to time, I would surface for breath before diving right back down. I couldn't help the grin that pulled at my lips as I swam around the small reefs and occasionally reaching down to snatch at a shell and shark teeth that showed up on the sandy floor from time to time.

XxXxX

"Did you feel that?" the crimson Peterbilt suddenly asked, raising himself up on his axels in interest.

The other vehicles surrounding him revved their engines in response, the unusual sensation felt among all of them. "Something's wrong and I don't like it," Chief grunted, maneuvering himself out of his space and seemed to direct his attention to the road.

"Sweet Primus."

"What is it Mechafire?" Metal Storm inquired, sensing the agitation in her twin.

"It's Riley," he murmured before revving his engine and peeling out of the lot he and the others were parked in. "Come on, come on, come on! We don't have much time!" he urged, stopping a moment before Crimson Flame and Shock Burst moved to follow him.

XxXxX

Floating on my back, I lazily brought let my hands drift from over my head to my sides and back over my head at the water to propel me through the water at a leisurely pace. On occasion, I would toy with the drawstring of the pouch wrapped around my wrist before I decided to twist myself around dive back underwater in search of more shells and bits of coral to add to my small collection.

A glint of light from out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I proceeded to swim in that direction, my curiosity piqued. When I got close enough, I could see that it was a metal fragment and reached out to grab it and once I did and held it up for inspection, I found small glyphs etched into it. My eyes widened in shock as the metal shard began glowing and felt an episode coming on that brought about the same alien glyphs flashing through my line of sight and made me inadvertently gasp in surprise, realizing too late what I did.

XxXxX

"She should be around here somewhere! Find her!" Chief ordered, racing across the empty beach in search of the platinum blonde.

Crimson Flame, however, took a calmer route to his looking, taking measured strides behind his team before the large Autobot stopped in his tracks altogether and looked out to the ocean not ten feet away from where he stood. His optics narrowed and trained his sensors on the water, surprised to find a massive spike in energy. "Oh, Primus... _Riley_!" Without so much as informing his comrades as to why the red mech shouted, Crimson Flame charged into the water towards the source of the spike in energy.

"Crimson Flame, what are you doing? Trying to catch tonight's meal?" Mechafire called out in a joking manner but stopped when Chief and Metal Storm delivered sound whacks to the back of his helm.

"It's Riley! She's about to overload on Allspark energy!" Crimson Flame explained quickly, reaching down to carefully remove the drowning human from the water.

XxXxX

My lungs were close to exploding from having no oxygen in them and made me feel lightheaded as a result. At this point, I felt heavy and knew I was sinking. Before I could officially pass out from a lack of air, I jerked at a thunderous sound that seemed to resonate from all around me and a force pushing me further away from the shore. Forcing myself to keep my eyes opened, I could just barely make out what looked like a giant pair of legs moving towards me.

Again, the shard in my hand pulsed and I clenched it tighter, holding onto it for dear life as my vision began more and more blurry, the last thing I saw before I blacked out was seeing something huge and vaguely resembling a hand descend upon me and wrap itself around me.

XxXxX

Retracting his hand from the water, Crimson Flame quickly made his way to shore cradling Riley's unconscious form in his massive hands. Worry was etched all over the mech's face as he scanned the limp form in his hands, curling his fingers around her body protectively to keep her from falling.

"Is she alright?" Shock Burst asked, sidling up next to Crimson Flame to look down at the young woman he held with equal concern.

"After a quick scan, it tells me she's unconscious, the human equivalent of a forced recharge. She's exhausted from the swimming and her lungs are filled with salt water, cutting off her access to oxygen and will terminate her if we can't expel the liquid," he explained, quickly but carefully racing along the shoreline to where he last saw the medic and hoping to Primus Ratchet was still there.

* * *

**Author's Note: In the next chapter, Optimus and his team will arrive in Ocean Heights and has a run-in with Riley. It sure makes you wonder how Riley's going to react to more robots when she comes to, huh?**


	6. Optimus Prime's Arrival in Ocean Heights

**Author's Note: Man, I'm on a roll writing these chapters! I wrote the last chapter in three days!**

**Okay, so I decided to close the poll and say the pairing will be... a surprise until I decide I want to put them together! There was a four-way tie between your tops choices with two votes per mech you chose, so I randomly chose one of them and to break the tie. :D Thank you guys for all the input on the future couple and there will be fluffiness between Riley and my choice in a later chapter so stay tuned!**

**So... enjoy the new chapter! :D**

* * *

Chapter Four: Optimus Prime's Arrival in Ocean Heights

_Thunder rumbled and lightning streaked across the black sky. Rain pouring down over the landscape appeared to almost be coming down horizontally with the ground as heavy gusts of wind whipped my hair around behind me. The downpour soaked me to the bone, but I couldn't find it in me to care. As far as I can tell, I'm walking on the beach near the town, pausing from time to time to watch the waves surge onto the shoreline before continuing on, sensing another presence here with me but completely out of sight._

_A quick glance at myself showed I'm wearing my two piece bathing suit and my cover up wrapped around my waist like a skirt, mildly surprising me that it hadn't flown off my person from the sheer force of the wind but it didn't seem to hinder my ability to walk as though the heavy winds were nothing more than a light breeze._

_And then I saw him._

_He stood still as a statue staring out into the raging ocean. He stood taller than I do, reaching, if not exceeding Ironhide's height, donning a simple helmet adorned with antennae on either side of his head, azure colored hair of the same shade of blue as his helmet sticking out from under the metal whipping around in the gales of wind. Armor covered his chest, shoulders, forearms, and everything from the waist down, the decals of his armor looking suspiciously like a flame job crawling up nearly half of his chest, arms, and legs. The young man appeared to be at peace despite the raging storm around us. I continued on my path towards him, that throbbing in my chest making itself known to me again and got more and more intense until I reached the young man's side._

_"Are you injured?" he asked, casting me a look from out of the corner of his eye._

_"No. The pain comes and goes. Nothing I can't handle," I sighed, my gaze never wavering from him. "Who are you?"_

_"My name is Optimus Prime. And you must be Riley, the young femme I've heard so much about," he answered, turning to face me fully as his gaze locked with my own. When Optimus had said my name, he said it as though he knew exactly who I am instead of it being a question as to whether or not I am Riley._

_"That's me. How did you—"_

_"Ironhide and the others keep me updated on your status. What is drawing me to come and see you personally is to keep you safe. Megatron will stop at nothing to claim you as his prize and when I was informed of him contacting you, I knew I should come meet you in person. Big things are about to happen... things that will shake your world to its foundation." His words were enough to keep me silent to ponder this. Optimus looked like he will be the only one that will answer any questions I have._

_I looked downward, racking my brain for something to ask him and get an answer for until I saw the shard I found clutched in my left hand. "What is this?" I asked him, lifting the shard for Optimus to see. Judging by the expression on his face, Optimus looked to be very surprised to see it._

_"Riley, where did you get this?"_

_I shrugged, dropping it into his hands for him to better inspect. "I found it while I was swimming and after that... I think I passed out again. To think I would've gotten enough sleep after being unconscious for two days," I said._

_Finally looking up to meet my gaze, he asked, "Would you mind if I held onto this?"_

_"You can melt it down for scrap for all I care. It's just a hunk of metal I found."_

_Optimus opened his mouth as though to rebuke me for saying that, but instead closed his mouth again and reached into a compartment in his forearm and offered whatever the small item was for me to take. I accepted the exchange of 'gifts' as it were and examined what I got in return for the shard: a gold pendant attached to a chain with a large glyph carved into the metal surrounded by many smaller ones._

_"Optimus... what importance does that shard hold?" I asked, suddenly fighting to keep the azure haired young man in focus as he began to fade._

_"Everything and more."_

XxXxX

"Optimus! Sir, are you alright?" Prowl's voice called out.

"That fail was so epic it was almost a win!" Sideswipe's voice cackled, clearly amused that Prime had run clear off the road in a daze.

Optimus, however, didn't respond to his teammates, instead activating his holoform and looked in the glove compartment to find the Allspark shard within. The azure headed young man shook his head in wonderment, finding himself thunderstruck at the fact that he had contacted Riley in some form before throwing the large truck in reverse and got himself back on the road.

XxXxX

"Look, she's waking up." a voice said softly.

"Are you sure she's not just reacting to our voices?" a second chimed in.

"I know she's waking up. Her breathing is returning to normal. We reached Ratchet just in time. If he hadn't pumped the water out of her lungs she would have perished," yet a third voice sounded, the definitively masculine voice reverberating through whatever hard surface I found myself laying on.

Opening my eyes a little, I stifled a yawn and rubbed at my eyes clumsily before attempting to look around in the blinding afternoon sun. I shook my head a little, eyes wide in surprise and shock at seeing twelve pairs of strikingly blue optics watching me intently. I watched them back, allowing my gaze to roam over each of the robots before me before I realized I'm being held by a thirteenth one— Crimson Flame— I realized, peering down at me in my place cradled in his palm against his chest.

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes again, disbelieving what I'm was seeing. In particular, my gaze landed on the large black and silver mech and mumbled, "Hey... ain't that Cleatus' truck?"

"Riley, you must try to relax. You nearly drowned yourself," another mech, Ratchet, I realized, advised me, watching me closely with worry etched on his metal face.

At those words, I looked down to my hand where I had been grasping the shard to find it had been replaced with that pendant Optimus had given me in exchange for it. On top of that I'm soaking wet and my little pouch hanging around my wrist filled with shells and bits of coral. "Oh, my God. It actually happened?"

"Riley?"

Abruptly, I began thrashing in Crimson Flame's hands trying to get free. However, Crimson Flame gripped me just a little tighter to keep me from squirming and lowered me to the ground to set me on my feet and the moment I touched the ground, I ran for my life but found I had been caged in by giant feet. Looking around wildly, my mind now fully alert to the current situation, I spotted an opening between a few cars and dashed for it, crawling into the small space and pressing my back to the far end of my new hiding place though I know they know I'm here. I watched as the multiple pairs of feet shuffled about to allow for a pair of forest green pedes to come within a few feet of the cars I hid myself underneath.

"Riley, please come out of there."

I said nothing, too terrified to say or do anything.

"... Chief?"

The sound of gears grinding and metal on metal filled the air as giant metal knees came to rest on the ground followed by a pair of hands before a metal face overtook the opening to watch me. "Yes, Riley. I'm here. Please get out of your little fox hole and stand at attention, soldier," he said quietly, his voice a hoarse gravelly sound from a lack of use but still held a quality to instill a sort of calm in me while at the same time holding a tone of authority that prodded me to obey him.

"..."

"You know me and the others, Riley. Don't be afraid of us. Never be afraid of us," he told me, keeping hold of my gaze with his glowing optics. "Come here, kiddo. We just want to talk to you."

"How long?" I whispered, moving my gaze away from the mechanoid to my hands where the stretch mark looking injuries resided.

"How long what, Riley?" Metal Storm's voice asked, the female robot joining the other mech on the ground to watch me.

Looking up sharply at the alien eyes that peered back at me, I snapped, "How long have I been lied to? How long has this been going on for? Who knows what's really happening? I don't! Out of all of you, Optimus seems like the only robot-person thing that can answer me!"

This time, both Chief and Metal Storm were pushed aside and a new face peered into my hiding place. "Where did you hear that name?" Ironhide demanded, the volume of his voice making me cringe.

"I saw him in a dream. Or something very much like one. I had a shard in my hand when Crimson Flame saved me, but now..." I let the charm tumble out of my hand, suspending it by the chain tangled around my fingers. "I have this. He's coming and he'll be here soon."

"Why are you being so irrational trying to hide from us in there anyway? You know we can pick up cars easily and get to you, right?" Gun Metal's voice sounded and I scowled.

"Leave me alone! I'm scared out of my wits right now and trying to figure why there's big ass robots running around town looking for me! I think I have every right to go spastic over this!"

"Let her go. Move away and let her go. Clearly, she's had about as much as she can handle for today," Crimson Flame's voice barked, the ruby colored mech's voice reminding me of Optimus' in my dream. I watched Ironhide go, waiting with anticipation for him to be a good distance away before I bolted out of my hiding place and ran.

XxXxX

"Hey, Frosty. What'cha doin'?"

Looking up from my seat on the ground to find Sunny standing a few feet away, I sighed and turned back to the road, watching with bated anticipation for the arrival of the young man I saw in my dream. "I'm waiting."

The brunette raised an eyebrow at me inquisitively. "Waiting? For what?"

"I'm waiting for my imaginary friend Edgar the panda bear to get home from his rock star tour of China and the rest Europe. What do you think I'm doing?"

"Jeez, you don't have to be so snippy about it," Sunny said, obviously miffed about my sarcastic retort.

"Go home, Sunny. I want to be alone right now. My secret hideout's been compromised so now I'm waiting for Edgar to get home."

"Isaiah said he saw you running out of the junkyard looking like you saw a ghost or something," she said, taking a seat beside me despite me insisting I wish to be left alone.

I groaned, sensing I wasn't going to shake my unwanted companion so easily. "Sunny Brooke, I told you to just go home! I have so much on my mind right now, I can't stand it!" I shouted, feeling my ire and confusion rising even more so now than it has in the past week.

"Riley Grace Ashton-Bishop, I'm pretending you didn't say anything. I know you better than you think I do and I'm not leaving until you spill the beans and tell me what's going on with you!" Sunny shouted back, leveling me with a look I've only ever seen on my mother's face when I'm getting slammed with some kind of punishment.

XxXxX(one week later)XxXxX

It became a sort of ritual for me to make regular patrols on both sides of town watching the road that cut through the middle of town for Optimus. Every day I would be met with disappointment at the lack of a new face appearing but that didn't stop me from looking anyway.

And here I sat on the west side of Ocean Heights, watching the main road in anticipation, sensing whatever big things that Prime had mentioned would be executed today or sometime very soon.

"Hey, Riley. Thought I'd find you here," Ironhide's voice burred, getting me to snap to attention and look up at the raven haired young man standing beside me. "What are you doing?"

"Optimus is coming. I don't know when, but I know he's coming. As for you, Cleatus, or Ironhide, or whatever the hell your actual name is, just know I hate your guts right now for lying to my face. I don't like being lied to and I certainly don't like surprises. I barely kept myself from running when Ratchet's skin fell off to show metal underneath, but waking up to find myself surrounded by giant _robots..._ well, you can understand where I'm coming from," I said finally, scowling when he chuckled and sat down beside me.

"My name really is Ironhide, Riley. How do you know Optimus' name? And the necklace?" he said, turning his unearthly blue eyes on me.

I sighed, pulling my gaze away from him to the road again in time to hear the telltale sounds of engines revving and no sooner had the sound reached our ears, a pair of Stingray Corvettes sped past shortly followed by a police cruiser, a Chevy Volt, and a tricked out Peterbilt decked out in a very familiar flame job. "He's here!" With that, I scrambled to my feet and ran after the eighteen wheeler.

"Riley! Get back here!" Ironhide called after me, only to come running after me when I didn't heed his call.

I ignored him, continuing on my path toward the big rig as it parked and watched a familiar blue headed young man jump out. I stopped just a few feet away from him and got his attention by saying, "It's you. Optimus."

"Riley. It's nice to finally meet you."

A quick glance at the other boys gathering around us showed just about as much fascination as the others held interest in me and the metal that peered out from underneath my skin at times when I get hurt or when the throbbing in my chest started up.

"You know each other, Prime? This is the girl we came for?" another boy cut in, a smile appearing on his face as he none too subtly took in my appearance.

I scowled. "Hey, hot shot, if you're going to check out my rack, try being a little more subtle next time," I deadpanned, getting a catcall from his brother as the two began going at it with each other.

"Told you she doesn't like you, Sunny," his brother cackled, shoving a piece of red streaked hair out of his face.

"Someone call my name?" my friend grinned, walking up from behind.

"Apparently. When you talk like that it makes you sound like, there's something going on I should know about," I answered, glancing over at my friend.

Here, the brunette blushed. "MacKeigan has lost his mind! He's running around the diner in nothing but his underwear! We tried getting him to put some pants on, but he's instead decided it'd be a lot more fun to try and ditch his tighty whities. Thank God he didn't. Do something about him!"

"What's the man doing right now?" I sighed.

"He's holed up behind the bar and throwing beers at people. We're trying to get him to stop but all we can really do is wait 'til he runs outta ammo," she answered.

I sighed and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Well, that's what happens when you try to negotiate with a man that's nuttier than squirrel poop. I would recommend telling the troops to fall back and regroup outside and wait 'til he comes out and when he does, break out the special Kool-Aid and magical brownies. That oughta calm his ass down enough to get a pair of britches of him. Go on and spread the word," I ordered, shooing my friend away and she did as I bade, not before sparing a glance at the new boys clustered together watching with interest.

Turning back to Optimus, I pulled out the pendant he had given me in that dream state and offered it to him. "I believe this is yours." He accepted it with a small smile and turned to regard the others watching us.

"Contact Ratchet and the others and let them know we've arrived. And Riley... I believe I owe you a few answers," he said, directing the last part to me as he led me away to find a secluded area.

"Optimus... what is happening to me? Every time I get scratched..." I paused, extending one arm towards him and carefully slid my nails over my arm, the skin peeling away as I went until my arm from the elbow down was covered in metal. "... This happens." Looking up to gauge the young man's reaction, I saw nothing but fascination on his face as the skin began to grow back on the metal, covering it completely.

"Well... that was unexpected," he said finally, continuing to look on in wonderment.

"You got any other party tricks?" one of the other boys asked, breaking the silence between us.

Casting a look over at the redhead, I answered with, "Stick around and I'll show you more than a few party tricks, bud. I'll probably even show off a bit of my oddball humor and get under someone's skin for your entertainment."

"Why don't you show off that body of yours for us instead? It's bangin'," the other boy grinned.

In retaliation, I opened my mouth to let out a scathing remark, but instead let my gaze drop and squinted with an evil smile creeping onto my face. "It's so _small_!" I let out a crazed laugh and ran away when he lunged for me.

"Sunstreaker, no! Don't! She's just playing! Get back here!"

"I want revenge, Sideswipe! Revenge will be mine!" he shouted back, continuing to try and make a grab for me while I remained just out of his grasp.

XxXxX

"Yo, Isaiah, what's up, my man?"

Looking up at the sound of his name, the blonde sighed and let his gaze wander back out to the ocean. "Nothing much. Just thinking about the crazy ass stuff that's been happening. Watching Chet's skin fall back and tools coming out of his hands was a bit too much for me, least of all the metal in my sister's arms," he answered, heaving a loud sigh as he reclined in the easy chair he brought with him.

"That was only the tip of the iceberg, buddy boy," Jazz laughed. "Me and the others are about to go meet up with our friends that just arrived in town. Wanna come with?"

"Since I got nothing better to do, why not?" he sighed, getting out of his seat and followed behind him.

"Can I ask you a question, Isaiah?"

"What's up?"

"Ironhide came to us last week after he tried talking up your sister and told us she discovered his piece hidden underneath his shirt."

Isaiah quirked an eyebrow. "So? Riley's always been very perceptive like that since we were little."

"She asked if it came in adult size. And it was a .40 caliber pistol," Jazz exclaimed.

The other boy didn't seem too concerned about it and replied with, "If you say that she was referring to his gun or his private parts, that's how she is. Don't let Riley get to you, man. She will do anything to embarrass you or get you riled up. Hence, her name Riley 'cause she loves to rile people up." Isaiah shook his head and let out a chuckle. "I swear my sister has the oddest sense of humor you'll ever come across in the United States."

"Damn straight, she does!"

XxXxX

"So this thing in my chest is turning me into one of you?"

The stunned question hung in the air for what seemed like eternity until Ratchet cleared his throat and said, "That is the only logical explanation that I can come up with, Riley."

"Perhaps it's always affected you but more subtly until you came into contact with a Cybertronian. You've given off small bursts of energy for years now, but it's grown in intensity since you've gotten older and sparked Chief, Crimson Flame, and the others and resurrected them," Prowl commented, casting the occasional suspicious glance at the twins as he spoke. "Unusually enough, not long after the battle in Mission City, three energy signals appeared in the general vicinity of your home. So far as we can tell, whatever's been emanating those signals have been siphoning your energy to keep it at acceptable levels."

I frowned, trying to think up anything that would be doing that but drew a blank. "I can't think of anything that fits your description," I admitted.

Optimus smiled slightly. "That's alright, Riley. The signals the three are giving off are faint, but now that you're separated from them, we can now track them to the general vicinity of your bedroom. What we are looking for will be small and portable and you might be able to think of where one of them is since you carry him around with you often."

"Wait, you mean my cell phone is alive? If that were the case, then wouldn't he or she have known that Megatron was trying to contact me and block his transmission to my phone?" I asked incredulously.

"Then it's possible you didn't spark your phone to give it life. Perhaps something else you would carry with you?" Ratchet answered.

I narrowed my eyes in concentration, trying to think of something else before an idea hit me.

XxXxX

Opening the door to my room, I paused in the doorway and looked around to find what I wanted before finally catching sight of it. "There you are," I sighed, moving to pick it up with the group in tow. I hesitated, holding my hand just above the tiny music player and looked up at Optimus who nodded in encouragement. Gingerly curling my fingers around the device, I laid it flat in my palm and stared at it. "What did I used to call you?" I mused, watching the device thoughtfully.

"Would you like a moment alone?"

Glancing up at the group, I nodded shortly before turning back to the disguised robot. "Chromium? ... I think that's it. Let me know you understand," I murmured, dropping the music player on the bed in shock when it began breaking apart and reconfiguring itself into a miniature humanoid robot. Fascinated, I dropped to my knees beside the bed and leveled my eyes on him.

The tiny robot sat up from his sprawled out position on the comforter and met my gaze, totally unafraid. "I understand," the robot said, climbing unsteadily to his feet and stumbled forward. I unexpectedly lashed out, catching him in my hand. "I see you did remember my name," he said finally, keeping a firm hold on me when I tried to pull away, instead hauling himself up onto my hand.

"Chromium, you wouldn't happen to know where I put the others, would you? I need to speak with all of you," I said, mustering up a sweet voice for him and gingerly deposited him on my shoulder.

"Do I know where they are, she asks. That's real funny. Of course I know. Blare is sitting on your desk and Chrome is... well, wherever it is you wandered off with him," he answered, pointing to the blue radio sitting quietly in the desk.

I nodded, keeping Chromium in my sights out of the corner of my eye as I began towards the radio. I took a seat at the desk, allowing Chromium to jump off my shoulder and approach his larger counterpart.

"Yo, Blare. Time to get to it," Chromium said, delivering a kick to the radio and the radio responded by transforming himself, making me jump at how much bigger he was than the transformed iPod.

"What now? If you woke me up just to tell me you expelled exhaust again, I'm going to offline you," Blare grumbled, stretching himself out before his glowing blue optics settled on me.

"Come on, you two. We're one bot short and we need to find him," I said, gingerly setting my hand down for Chromium to crawl onto before turning to leave. Opening the door to meet the collective gazes of the young men waiting for me.

"We need to get out of here. There's still one left that we need to track down and then maybe we can talk some more," I sighed, pushing past them and headed up the stairs. The first place I started looking was the living room, peering in or under everything and even in between the cushions until a voice startled me.

"Riley? What are you doing?" Isaiah asked, leaning against the banister on the staircase.

"I'm looking for something."

"You mean this? I borrowed it for a little since mine was dead," the blonde shrugged holding up my DS for me to see and I felt a small jolt in my chest.

"Can I have it back now? I'm gonna get gone for a while," I asked, holding my hand out to take it. My older brother gave me a strange look at my change in demeanor and my choice in company but said nothing, handing over the desired device and headed back to his room.

Silence reigned in the room for a while longer before I turned around to face the others and wandered out of the room and out the front door.

"Where are you going? You can't just leave by yourself with the Decepticons waiting to strike the moment you're in your most vulnerable state," Ratchet said, catching up with me and grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Well, excuse me! Giant robots that turn into hot boys chasing me around was not what I had in mind spending my summer vacation running from! The smaller ones I know, but the larger ones... I don't know if I can face them without having the sudden urge to run for my life," I cried out, yanking my hand out of his and inadvertently tearing off a good portion of skin to reveal the sleek silver metal beneath. "This isn't supposed to be happening to me! I just want it to stop!"

"You want what to stop? Riley, who's your friend?" Dad's voice asked, making me pale in fear when my mother's hand touched my shoulder to turn me around and made even more skin fall away, making her scream in surprise.

"What is that?!"

I averted my gaze to my arm as the skin began crawling its way up my arm to cover the metal again. Everything seemed to stop and voices seemed to fade as Ratchet began talking with my parents and leading them back inside. As soon as my family was seated, the medic began explaining everything in depth from the energy bursts they've been tracking since 2007 and the condition turning me into metal from the inside out to the Decepticons and Autobots and why they came here looking for me.

"So let me get this straight: there are people out to get my daughter because of something a doctor missed when clearing her of shrapnel?! Not only that, but there's robots living in the junkyard? I need proof," Dad shouted, clearly in denial of the situation.

"He's right, Dad. Look," I sighed, getting out of my seat and put my radio, iPod, and DS on the floor. "You can trust them. Show yourselves." Obediently, Chrome, Blare, and Chromium transformed, getting rewarded with shrieks of terror from my parents and brother.

"Holy God Almighty! What are those things?!" Dad shouted, pointing a finger in Blare's face.

"They are the reason I'm still alive. Chromium and the others have been siphoning energy from me to keep it at safe levels. It's even better around Crimson Flame and the others in the junkyard since they're even bigger and require a lot more energy to stay alive themselves."

"Oh, my God."

"Why did you hide this from us, Riley? We're your family!" Mom cried, her gaze not wavering from the tiny robots standing before her.

"She didn't know how you would take it," Chromium interjected. "It may not be my place to say anything in the matter, but look at what's happening to your offspring. The ones she told are the ones who are best equipped to help her."

My mother stayed quiet, knowing he was right.

Silence remained for what seemed an eternity until Optimus broke the silence and said, "Time is short. The Decepticons are planning to come for her, if not just abduct her the moment she's been isolated. It would be in you and your daughter's best interest to come with us to Diego Garcia. We will have access to better equipment to help Riley there."

"What about my daughter? Can you stop the changing?" Mom asked, sounding more and more distressed at the situation that's upon us that will ultimately result in evacuation.

"I'm afraid we cannot stop her transformation but we can help make it as comfortable for her as possible," Ratchet said, "The protoform underneath her skin is only going to continue to get bigger and it will cause more pain for her. Ultimately, the metal will break the skin..." here, he gave me a look that clearly said he was concerned for me before turning back to my parents. "... and her transformation will be complete. From there, the Autobots support her alongside you and offer her asylum on the island."

"Megatron would track me there, wouldn't he? Ever since I was little, I would sense this sort of presence around me, but I never knew what it was. Made my skin want to crawl right off the bone," I said. "I sensed when Optimus arrived here before he was in my field of vision and I sense the energy given off by every one of you. Megatron's is a lot more... how would you put it... sinister. His presence is coming and he's coming fast."

The Autobots each spared a glance at each other before Sideswipe joined in and asked, "How can you be so sure he's coming personally?"

"He sent his number two man and a group of henchmen to scope me out as well as the area. When you started appearing, they fell back because they know they're outmanned and outgunned if they find themselves in a position where they need to fight. More are coming along with their leader for support. I'd wager they'll be here within days as fast as he's moving."

"In that case, we must evacuate you and your family. They will follow us and leave the town alone in order to try and catch us," Optimus said grimly, "Pack what you need and travel lightly. What is lost can be replaced when we reach our destination."

"Wait. If he wants me alone, he's going to get me alone. Let's see how far he's willing to go," I blurted out, getting looking of incredulity from the group. "It's with good reason. Let him think he's won me, but once he tells me what I want and need to know, I'll vanish. I've communicated with him before and I know he will want to make contact again. Let him. Let him bring his intentions to light and I will vanish."

"That would be illogical, Riley. He will take you then and there. Why are you wishing to dance with the devil?" Prowl said.

"I know it is. Ask anyone around here and they'll tell you I like to size up my adversaries before picking a fight. I want to know what I'm up against," I responded, turning to face the brunette head on, unwilling to back down. Tension in the air was thick enough to cut it with a knife as everyone took in my words.

Ironhide finally broke the silence and said, "That would be suicide for you if he finds out you would report to us. He probably knows you're communicating with us. I would advise what Prime said and pack a few of your belongings and clothing when he deems it necessary to leave. And it ain't gonna be long till we need to burn rubber and get to Diego Garcia."

"I will do what you say but I'm still going to contact him. I like to size up my enemies and find out what makes them tick."

"If you're really going to do this, at least take backup. We will mask our signals so nobody will know we're there except you," Sunstreaker joined in, and I nodded in consent of the proposal.

"Contact Chief and the others. Inform them that we are preparing an evacuation and they need to be ready. Hound, Jolt, and Gun Metal, you three will watch over Riley's family while I and the others provide backup for Riley's rendezvous with Megatron," Optimus ordered, receiving their individual answers from his subordinates as they set to work to carry out their orders.

XxXxX

"All right, you walking piles of scrap, I just got orders from Ratchet delivered from Prime himself. Be ready to mobilize on his order," Chief barked, getting his comrades' heads to snap to attention.

"Sure thing, boss," Whirlwind answered cheerily, delivering a sound whack to Crimson Flame's arm. "Ya hear that? We're going on a road trip, baby! Whooo!"

The larger mech sighed. "Yes, Whirlwind, I heard. I'm perfectly capable of hearing our commander from fifteen feet away," he said, shrugging off the excitable mech and transformed, settling himself on his axels and cycled air through his vents.

"Crimson Flame, what do you think you're doing?"

"If it's all the same to you, sir, I'm staying here."

"That wasn't a question of whether you wanted to leave or not. That was a direct order from Optimus Prime himself!" Chief shouted.

Crimson Flame was not fazed by the outburst, instead answering with, "When Riley becomes distressed, she comes here to us. If we're not here, she will not have her own backup waiting for her. She will come. If not, I will catch up with you."

"Very well, then," Chief muttered, turning away from the stubborn truck and continued on his path and disappeared from his teammates' sight with an order of: "Keep your comm. Links open for further instructions."

XxXxX

_"Megatron, are you there? I know you can sense me through the connection."_

_A dark chuckle made my skin break out in goose bumps and I turned to face the young man standing behind me. "But of course I'm here. Are you surprised by this, child?"_

_I scowled, choosing to get right to the point. "Listen to me and listen well because I will only say this once. I wish to meet you face to face," I said bluntly._

_A slightly quirked eyebrow was my response. "Very well, then. Where shall we make this meeting happen?"_

_"There is a clearing in the woods about five miles from Ocean Heights. Contact me the day before you arrive and you will find me there waiting. But..."_

_"But?"_

_"I have conditions for this meeting and you will follow them or the deal is off and you cannot add me to your ranks."_

_This got a laugh out of him as he took several steps forward to put him less than two feet away from me. "You dare think that you are in a place to negotiate with the leader of the Decepticons?"_

_"Yes, I do. I can also be certain you will oblige me since you sent some of your best men to scout me and see if I'm worth your time and since you contacted me personally, I can say I'm well worth the time spent tracking me," I said confidently, watching the man before me carefully._

_"How perceptive of you. What are these conditions of yours, child?"_

_"You will come alone. I can't risk having an overload with as many men siphoning my energy. Too much will make me collapse and I will be rendered unconscious for an indeterminable length of time. You are to use your human form and you will give answers to my questions. No games or trying to pull anything clever. Try it, and I will leave immediately. Am I understood?" I stated, narrowing my eyes when he began laughing._

_"You shall have your answers. I will make contact the moment I am a day away from your location," he said and turned away as though he were about to leave before pausing and looking over his shoulder. "I have a condition for you as well, Riley. You are not to bring assistance either. I will know if there is an Autobot nearby and the moment an Autobot signal appears nearby, I will kill you and the Autobot."_

XxXxX

I jolted, sitting up on the bed and looked around to the worried faces looking back at me. "It's done. The rendezvous is set of. A clearing five miles from here. But he says no backup and if he finds out he'll kill us," I yawned, getting out of the bed and stretching myself out.

"You don't have to worry. We're going to cloak our energy signals so they won't know we're there," Sideswipe grinned.

"He will come back into contact the day before he gets here to meet me."

"Are you sure you want to do this? Megatron isn't known for keeping promises," Prowl said, watching me carefully.

"We're past the point of no return. He knows that if another Decepticon pops up near the meeting, I will sense him. I also called him out by the fact that I'm worth him personally coming to see me face to face. Has he done this with any other Decepticon? I didn't think so," I said, pushing past him but lingered near Ironhide's side. "If you have my back, I'll have yours. Don't prove me wrong in trusting you, cowboy," I said quietly, and got a smirk in response.

"You'd be a fool to not have me watching your back. I'm one of the best there is," he answered, and I nodded in approval, unable to start feeling my heart beat a little faster at his statement.

XxXxX

It was days later that Megatron contacted me again and that put the Autobots on edge, knowing what entailed with the Decepticon leader's arrival.

"He's almost here, Riley. Are you still certain about this?" Ironhide's voice asked me and I turned to regard the raven haired young man.

"I'm not backing down now, Ironhide. He would know something's up, so I have to follow through with what I've started," I sighed, watching the darkening sky in the distance. "Storm's coming, Ironhide. It's in the air and when it comes, it's going to come down hard and there's no stopping it no matter how much we want to."

"Hmph. I ain't afraid of getting a little wet."

"Good. For those that don't like a little rain, I hope they packed an umbrella. We're at a turning point here and there's no going back now. There will _never_ be going back now."

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so this turned out to be a pretty long chapter, huh? Sorry it took so long with the new chapter guys. Had a little writer's block and whatever. So next up, Megatron arrives in Ocean Heights! Are you ready for this?! I am, baby!**


	7. Contradictions and Complications

**Author's Note: For real, this is getting crazy. I think this chapter is the one you guys have really been waiting for and you will be treated to the first battle scene in the story and there will be more to come, so enjoy!**

**WARNING: This chapter in terms of what's about to go down may have boosted the rating to M. Let me know what you think in the comments. This installment also includes spilling blood. Lots and lots of it. If you are sensitive about reading about this sort of thing, this chapter is not for you.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Contradictions and Complications

It had rained all night and most of the early morning. I didn't get a wink of sleep for the entire duration of the storm, becoming antsy about the upcoming meeting with the Decepticon leader face to face for the first time.

"Riley, it's time to head out to the rendezvous point," Prowl said curtly, placing a hand on my shoulder to get my attention.

I nodded in my acknowledgement and turned to follow him out of the house to where the team waited for me. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Yes, let's. Riley, if you feel uncomfortable, you can call it off. There is nothing wrong with it," Ironhide rumbled, speaking for the first time since the rain started.

"Megatron will use whatever he can against you and use it to get you on his side. Don't fall for his tricks," Optimus joined in, "He will do whatever it takes. No matter the cost. Stay strong and keep on the path you've laid out for yourself."

"I never had any intention to deviate from it, Prime," I smirked, climbing into Ironhide's passenger seat and shut the door behind me. "Let's get a move on and make this meeting quick. Mother Nature's planning on giving us an encore performance of the storm from last night."

Optimus gave a curt nod in understanding and began issuing orders to the other on the team before the sounds of revving engines filled the air. I sighed and shifted around in the seat, feeling awkward and out of place inside Ironhide's cab, knowing full well he could tell I'm on edge being surrounded by three tons of living metal.

"You seem tense."

"You don't say, Ironhide. Whatever could've been your first clue?" I sighed, glancing over at the driver seat to face the ebony haired young man.

"You want to turn on the radio?"

"No. We're not far from where we're going, so it wouldn't be worth it."

The rest of the drive went by in silence as we drove to the clearing I indicated before the group came to a stop. Ironhide's door popped open and his holoform blinked into existence in front of me, prompting a yelp of surprise.

"Boo."

I scowled. "That isn't even funny," I said, slapping his shoulder. Ironhide simply shrugged it off and offered me his hand. "How chivalrous of you," I snickered, blushing when he offered a bow in a mockery of etiquette. I was answered with a smirk as he closed his hand around my smaller one. Stepping down onto the step to get into the truck, I let out a startled squeal when Ironhide quickly let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around my waist and sat me on the ground.

"I wish I were you right now, 'Hide! What I wouldn't give to have a tender young thing like that to hold in my arms!" Gun Metal cackled, making me blush twenty different shades of red and a devious smile to cross Ironhide's face and cast a look at me that clearly spelled trouble.

I cleared my throat and turned my gaze away from the raven haired man and the hulking black truck that made up his true body, once again fighting off the fact that I was— quite literally— inside him. "That'll do, for now, boys. Why don't you go hunker down somewhere and I'll go meet my guest," I said finally, shooing the boys away into a copse of trees before I turned and walked in the opposite direction and into the clearing to wait.

Taking a seat on a large rock, I resigned myself to the wait and watched the sky. Dark clouds churned high overhead and thunder began rumbling in the distance. I could already see it was raining in the distance and it will get here soon.

"Riley."

Looking up to face the new arrival I allowed a small smirk and slid off the rock and moved toward him. "Welcome to Ocean Heights."

The silver headed man spared a look around and smirked. "Quaint."

"Let me start off by saying I know you brought your boys closer than I'd like them to be. They're close enough for me to know they're very close. Close enough to begin siphoning energy from me and I don't want to overload again."

Megatron smirked, something that made chills roll down my spine. Then he began moving closer to me, not stopping until he was right on top of me and leaned in close to whisper, "I am not one to be trifled with, child. I know you have been amongst the Autobots. I can smell their stench on you."

"Nice to know. In fact that's the creepiest thing anyone's said to me," I scowled, placing my hand on him and pushed him away, ignoring the sudden start of voices shouting in my head and glyphs flashing across my field of vision. "I like to investigate when new people and things pop up so unexpectedly here. It's not every day a new face shows up in Ocean Heights. And it's none of your business as to who and what I go around: I decide what I do and nobody else."

That smirk on his face vanished and was replaced with a poisonous look that made me flinch slightly. "So I see you aren't one to take orders. That's too bad. It would seem you're the type that needs to be shown her place," he snarled, lunging for me. I jumped out of his way, gasping in surprise when a piece of metal sliced into my arm.

"You bastard!" I shrieked, pivoting on a heel to retaliate and reached out for him, stunning myself and Megatron when the skin on my arm peeled back to show the metal hand underneath as it contorted itself into some kind of weapon and fired, the kickback alone startling me enough to lose my footing and fall over backwards. Pushing myself up, I gawked at the weapon that now made up my entire forearm before scrambling to my feet and kept the silver headed man in my sights. "I'd say our meeting is over. I'm no longer interested in this," I said shakily, backing away as my adversary continued to get closer until he tackled me before I could get away and pinned me to the ground beneath him.

"Try as you might to turn your back on what you're becoming, but it will never just fade away. You'll never know how precious life is until it is brutally taken. For instance... your family," he growled, his voice low enough to barely hear it over the thunder that rumbled over head.

My eyes widened. "You leave my family alone! I'll kick your ass if you hurt so much as a hair on their heads!"

Megatron laughed, a cruel and grating sound that made my skin crawl and sent chills to the very core of my being. "My dear, whoever said I'd be the one to do the harming of your family?" Ruby eyes met baby blue as the struggle between us began once again, but it seemed Megatron had the upper hand from my injured arm as he pinned my hands above my head and straddled my hips, using his weight to pin me down and keep from using my legs to get free.

I never broke eye contact with him throughout our little skirmish, letting out an ear splitting scream as extra hands came down on me and held me in place as Megatron brought my left hand down and held it in front of my face. One of the new faces in the clearing, Starscream, I realized, handed a small device no bigger than the size of the palm of his hand to his leader and moved to help hold onto my arm.

"I'm not going to lie. This is going to hurt. A lot." Just as soon as those words left his mouth, a searing, white hot pain shot up my arm from the crook of my left elbow and I screamed again, arching my back in agony as I renewed my struggle to get free.

I became vaguely aware of anything else as the pain took over my mind, not even engines revving and tearing through the clearing made their presence known and began changing forms into the towering robots that I've started becoming accustomed to could snap me out of the trance I found myself in. Cannon fire tore through the air along with the sounds of metal on metal as both sides clashed with each other and the loud electronic clicks, chirping, and whirs that made up the Cybertronian language.

"Riley! Get up! You need to get out of here! Now!" Ironhide's voice snapped at me, and I looked up to see the large black and silver form of the truck I had ridden here in and clumsily climbed to my feet and staggered out of the clearing.

I didn't stop running until I reached my home and when I finally reached my destination, I locked myself in the bathroom. Sinking down on the floor, I let out a sob in pain and braced myself against the door and the wall opposite in the small confinement. The alien gun that now made up my arm still hadn't returned to a hand and my left bicep sported a rather nasty cut, blood oozing down my arm in a concentrated stream, and my newest tattoo of a Decepticon insignia emblazoned in the crook of my elbow in deep purple ink.

"Riley? You alright in there?" Gun Metal's voice asked, followed by a soft rapping on the door.

"No," I whispered.

"Would ya unlock the door? Let me help you," he pleaded with me, and I obliged, reaching up to unlock the door and shifted myself away from the door to let the dirty blonde in. "Oh, Primus. What happened?"

"It's just a scratch, Gun Metal. I can't even figure out what I did to do this either," I rasped, feeling the exhaustion setting into my bones from the running and fighting I did before reaching my home.

"That don't look like a scratch. Looks more like you sided with them," he said, crouching down to examine my injury and the symbol stamped onto my arm.

Even through the exhaustion, I still managed a scowl. "It's not like I wanted this. Megatron pinned me down and tattooed it on me."

"Let me take a look here," Gun Metal sighed, taking hold of my right arm and squeezed it lightly and I jerked away, stunned when the weapon reverted itself back into a hand.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and bit back a moan when Gun Metal's probing fingers began touching around the cut. "It hurts! Don't do that!"

All I got was an apologetic look before he reached over and grabbed ahold of the hand towel on the counter and tied it around my arm. "That oughta do it 'til Ratchet can get over here to see you."

"What do I do? The Decepticons are about ready to move in! Protect my family with your life or so help me God, I will—!"

"I got the message. This is for you. It's your bag for when we need to evacuate. I think you'll need to keep it with you till it's time to hit the road."

I nodded and closed my eyes tightly, taking in a shaky breath and sighed. "I'm scared, Gun Metal. I keep praying this is a really bad dream and I'll wake up soon, but I can't get away! It just keeps piling up! I want it to stop!" I murmured, tears beginning to start up again in my anxiety.

The dirty blonde shook his head and gently wrapped his arms around me. "Riley, I'm so sorry you got mixed up in this. Being stuck in the middle of a centuries old war ain't your place."

"Gun Metal, we need you outside now! We got company!" Sunstreaker barked, pushing the door open and grabbing hold of the other boy's shirt.

"Duty calls. Get with your family. We got them holed up in the master bedroom ready to roll when things get tough," he said, climbing to his feet and left before I could give an answer.

I waited until I could no longer hear their footsteps before I decided to do anything and locked the door again. Glancing down at my arm where the Decepticon insignia resided, I glared and forced myself to move and grab the razor sitting on the side of the tub when I take showers. "There's no way in hell it's staying on my arm," I muttered, using my fingers to break the razor apart, wincing when my fingers would get little cuts from the blades. After a little while of working, I managed to pull one of the blades free and gingerly grasped it between my fingers. Before I could begin doing what I was about to do, I reached for one of the towels hanging up on the rack above my head and pulled it free, twisting it around in my hands before putting it in my mouth and biting it. Bracing myself for the pain to come, I dug the edge of the blade into my skin and let out a muffled scream, fresh tears welling up in my eyes as I continued working the blade around the mark, pulling it in and out choppily as the skin peeled away the more I did it. Letting out another scream, I forced myself to continue until the entire patch of skin fell onto the floor with a wet plopping sound on the tile flooring beside me. I grimaced, taking the towel and wrapping it around my arm tightly as the blood began picking up speed as it poured out of the gaping hole in my arm.

"Riley? You need to be ready to leave," Prowl's voice said curtly, his tone carrying over the urgency of the impending situation. "I realize you're struggling with what's been happening the past week or so, but you must put it behind you in order to carry on through the current situation."

"I know, Prowl," I rasped out, trying to fight back the tears streaming down my face.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

The doorknob jiggled, but it wouldn't give way to him. "Open the door, Riley. Allow me to assist you," he implored, and I sighed, reaching around to unlock it and moved away for him to enter. "What happened here?!"

I watched the man carefully, my mind hazed over with the pain shooting up my arm and winced. "I got rid of it."

This got a questioning look from him before he spotted the mass of bloody flesh on the floor at his feet. "Riley! What did you do to yourself?!"

I sniffled, reaching up to him with my good arm pleadingly. "Help me? I'm so scared!"

"What's going on? Aah!" my mother's question was cut short as she let out a horrified scream at the bloody mess. "My poor baby! What's happened to you?!" she bemoaned, grasping at my arm to pull me unsteadily to my feet.

"I belong to nobody!" I ground out, my voice hoarse from the screaming I did. "_Nobody_!"

Prowl gazed at me in worry before scooping me into his arms and carried me into my mother's room and laid me on the bed. "By the Allspark!" Prowl's blue eyes widened considerably and turned away to call for help, but no words escaped him.

::Prowl? What's the matter? What happened to Riley?:: Ratchet's voice rang out and I jumped, scanning the room for the brunette, but didn't see him anywhere.

::You must get here as quickly as you can. Riley injured herself.:: Prowl's voice answered urgently, the tone of his voice clearly distressed.

::I'm on my way. Try and staunch the bleeding as best you can until I arrive. I might not be able to do much until we are a safe distance away from Ocean Heights. The Decepticons are moving in quicker than we anticipated. I'll be arriving very shortly. Ratchet out.:: Ratchet said grimly.

Turning back to Prowl, I narrowed my eyes suspiciously as he drew near and began running the excess towel up and down my arm to clean me up.

"Before you ask, I know you were tuning in to the conversation," he said seriously, not even looking up to meet my gaze. "You opened a comlink. Albeit, unknowingly."

"What do I do? How do I turn it off?"

"Comlinks tend to turn themselves off when there's no one to receive the transmission. A Cybertronian's processor is very well organized... like a filing cabinet, if you will. Everything is filed away for convenience and easily accessible if you want something. For example..." he said, pulling one arm away and converted it into a weapon. "Weapons systems and transforming."

Pursing my lips slightly, I watching my right arm intently and thought about it. "So... if I need a gun, I have to find that system to activate it? That can't be too hard," I mused, closing my eyes and mentally picturing that metaphorical filing cabinet Prowl talked about and searched through it. A sudden pang in my chest made me let out a cry of pain and clutched at it, biting back another moan as the pain spread out through my body.

"What's going on here?" Ratchet's voice demanded, coming to my side to examine my arm. "Riley, what have you done?"

"I cut it off my arm!" I moaned, gasping in agony when the towel was untied to show the wound.

Ratchet's grim expression turned to shocked disbelief. "You cut all the way to your protoform! Why did you do that?!"

"Fix it? It hurts!" I begged him.

"I will, but next time, don't do something as stupid as this!" he sighed, setting to work on repairing the damage I caused myself, from stitches for the cut and false skin slowly beginning to be reproduced by the protoform beneath my skin before scanning me to see if I caused harm to the living metal. We sat like this in silence, watching the medic do his job while the sound of rain on the roof filled in the quiet.

"Where's Isaiah?" I finally asked, just now realizing my sibling isn't around anywhere.

"He was insistent upon helping stand guard with the others," a familiar voice burred, making me jump and turn to the door to face the raven haired man in the entryway. "Sideswipe informs me that the 'Cons are making their move. I advise for you to begin preparing to run for the door and get ready to make your rendezvous with Chief and the others at the entrance of the neighborhood."

For some reason or another, I felt my heart speed upon seeing him and blushed. His hair and clothes were plastered to his body, showing off every curve of his body and muscles through the white shirt he wore, not helping in the slightest to get me to stop staring at him. "... Thank you for that. Just let us know when we need to make a break for it," I thanked him, forcing myself to look at his face and blushed again when I caught that wicked gleam in his eyes and fingered the hem of his shirt to show off a bit of skin.

My heart was practically hammering into my ribs now as he edged closer and leaned in maddeningly close. His hot breath on my neck made goose bumps break out on my exposed skin as he placed his lips near my ear and whispered, "Like what you see, Riley? If this were the opportune moment... I'd put on a little show just for your entertainment." The implications to his words made that pink tint to my cheeks turn red and bit back a sigh when his lips brushed past my cheek as he pulled away to leave the room.

XxXxX

"Isaiah, you really should go inside. Be with your family."

Glancing over at the new arrival, he shook his head and sighed. "I'm staying here. I want to be able to protect my family and that what I'm gonna do, alright? There's nothing you can say to deter me now," he said curtly, keeping his eyes glued on the surroundings in from of him.

Sunstreaker watched the young man inquisitively, unconvinced. "You know that's not the reason. Spill it."

"Fine. It's just that I'm worried about my sister. Riley's my only sibling and I love her to death even if she drives me crazy," he said, allowing a small smile to grace his lips. "She's just had so much going for her lately and it's been pulling at her. I feel bad about it, y'know? Those things that keep happening and I can't help her. I feel... helpless."

Gun Metal chose that moment to join them, hefting a rifle with a grin. "Maybe this will help fight that helpless feelin'. You've fooled with guns before haven't you? Time to put away your child's equipment and start playin' with the big boys, son," he grinned, offering the weapon to the blonde and he accepted with a sort of smile tugging at his mouth.

"You ever play those military style games, Isaiah?" Sideswipe asked him, bringing out his own weapon in preparation for the imminent fight.

He nodded. "Oh, yeah."

"This ain't one of those kiddie games where you shoot up one or two bad guys and you're done. We just graduated to the ungodly union of Call Of Duty: Black Ops and Halo mixed with Mass Effect. You ready for this?"

The blonde nodded grimly, turning to face the dark surroundings beyond the limited amount of light from the front porch to find multiple cars filing down the street and the occasional jet and helicopter passing overhead. "I am. Let them come. Let them see what happens when they screw with us."

XxXxX

Ratchet had just begun to patch up the Energon line I nicked from my little episode when the sounds of cannon fire began to rock the earth, getting us all to jump. Looking up at the door to find Optimus standing in the entryway, he ordered, "It's time to go. Head out as fast as you can and leave this place now. Ratchet, provide them with cover to leave and escort them to Shock Burst and the others waiting at the entrance of the neighborhood."

Giving him a nod in understanding, Ratchet hurriedly patched the leak before pulling away and allowing for a partial transformation to better protect himself and us from any oncoming opposition. "Let's go!"

I forced myself to my feet, slinging my bag over my shoulder and grabbed hold of my father's hand as we began to leave the room before Ratchet barred us from leaving when the lights exploded, casting us into pitch darkness. A sudden light made us flinch and cover our eyes and watched as a chartreuse colored hand reached out to us and made a gesture to get back, blocking the light enough for us to see the light emanating from the search lights on his chest.

"What's happening, Ratchet?" I asked before I was promptly shushed and gentle hands pushed me back before the lights cut out.

"Sorry about the high beams. Force of habit as it were," he whispered back, "There's someone in the house."

That alone made my blood run cold.

XxXxX

"You want some of this, glitch?! Come get some!" Gun Metal shouted, a crazed laugh escaping him as he unleashed a barrage of plasma pulses screaming through the night air, the sounds of the blasts hitting home mixing with the deafening thunder of the storm raging overhead.

Isaiah, for all his valiance standing and fighting a fight he had no business in, couldn't help feeling a bit shell shocked as the cars and planes had broken apart to form the giant metal monstrosities that were now making a move on his home. Pulling the trigger, the plasma the shot forth nearly knocked him on his ass from the kickback alone but he stood his ground, opening fire on everything in his field of vision, mindful not to try and take out an ally.

"Isaiah!"

Glancing over at the new arrival beside him, he gave a quick nod before going back to continuing his onslaught of plasma bursts and letting out the occasional shout of triumph when he took out one of the oncoming assailants. "These bastards are harder to get rid of than cockroaches! The more I shoot down, the more appears, Optimus!" he shouted over the cacophony of metal on metal as both Autobot and Decepticon alike got close enough to engage in close quarters combat, Cybertronian battle cries, and alien weaponry unleashing a barrage of plasma and laser fire. A patch of earth exploded just a few feet to the right of where the blonde teen was hunkered down as he fought, showering him and Prime in dirt. "What's your course of action, sir?"

"You're going to be providing cover fire for your family while you and they are evacuated. We can't risk harm coming to a human life here," he said immediately and got rewarded with a shocked look.

"I'm not going anywhere! I'm fighting for my family!" he protested, coming to his feet when Optimus grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to his full height.

"That wasn't a question, Isaiah. Your family needs you, so go be with them." Optimus' tone left no room for argument and Isaiah grumbled under his breath before snapping a salute and racing off.

XxXxX

Crawling under the bed, I watched the door with a feeling I could only describe as anticipation as my parents crawled up on either side of me and laid their arms over my back protectively to instill some comfort and keep me from moving as my brain was screaming at me to do. Ratchet stood just outside the room, gun drawn, adopting a defensive stance as he waited.

"Riley, stay still," Mom whispered, giving me a squeeze.

I was about to whisper something back when the sound of footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. From the way Ratchet shifted around on his feet told me whoever was coming was able to overpower the medic. My heart pounded against my ribs as I began hearing the voices echoing in my head and glyphs began swimming in and out of my field of vision.

"Riley?" I was vaguely aware of my father's voice as I shook my head to try and clear up my vision as the entire room lit up with a light blue tinge.

Absently, I shifted my arm and the skin peeled back to allow the metal appendage beneath to show through and continued to shift to accommodate the alien weapon that covered my entire forearm. I watched with interest, waiting with bated breath for the enemy to show itself like a cat waits for a mouse to reappear from its hiding place. Ratchet spared a glance over at me and barely let out a surprised gasp when an unseen force slammed into him.

Instinctively, I began trying to crawl forward to help the medic but my parents kept me in place, urging me to remain with them. I growled, the sound startling even me at the electronic grating sound that came from deep in the back of my throat before I scrambled out from under the bed, following the energy signals emanating from Ratchet and his opponent before locking on and pulling the proverbial trigger of the gun. The force knocked me backwards like it had before, making me slam my back into the wall but I couldn't help feeling smug at the shout of pain and angry words that spewed forth from my target before he turned and lunged for me, the force taking us through the wall and into the bathroom on the other side.

"Megatron's prize or not, I won't allow for you to get away unscathed!" he snarled, grabbing hold of my hair and threw me across the room, making me go through another wall back into the master bedroom.

Pushing myself back to my feet, I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth from hitting it on the headboard and smirked. "That all you got?! Honey, you may be the king in your castle, but you're in my house now!" I shouted, letting out a scream and charged him, taking him through the wall and into the guest bedroom before landing ourselves in the kitchen.

"Riley! Get out of the way!" Ratchet's voice yelled, and I instinctively jumped away in time to see the medic plow into my adversary and grappled with him before falling over the banister and into the living room. "Get your family out of here! _NOW_!"

I nodded, racing back into the bedroom and pulled the covers back to see them. "Time for us to get lost! Ratchet's got us covered for now, but he won't be able to keep the Decepticon back forever!" I said urgently, helping my parents to their feet and led them out of the room and down the hallway before I was unexpectedly hit from the side, sending me through another wall and into Isaiah's bedroom, hitting my head against the bedframe. By the time I hit it, the blue tinge to my vision vanished along with the glyphs floating across my line of sight, feeling the effects of being knocked around settle into my bones coupled with the pain of having my injuries hit on from the cut on my bicep to the hole in the crook of my elbow. Everything was quiet, not a sound to be heard as I clumsily rubbed at my head and grimaced at the feeling of something warm and wet from the point of contact.

"Riley!" a voice shouted, sounding muffled and very far away.

Slowly glancing up at the light shining in my face, I let out a moan as Ratchet grasped my arm to help me stand and walk me down the hallway. Ratchet's lips were moving, but I couldn't quite hear him from the force of the blow to my head, instead hearing a high pitched ringing sound as I frowned slightly and pushed him away. "Mom? Dad?" I whimpered, looking back to the young man with me to get an answer.

XxXxX

"Come on, Mariah! We have to keep going!" Dad shouted, dragging his wife behind him.

Mom, however, tried to run back in the opposite direction where the sky was lighting up with explosions from the fight taking place in such close proximity to their home. "Isaiah and Riley's still in our house, John! I can't live with myself if something happened to my babies!" she shrieked, still struggling to go back.

"I'm afraid that would be a very dangerous move on your part, Mrs. Ashton-Bishop. Optimus and the others won't let anything happen to them if they had anything to say about it," Chief's voice said bluntly. "Riley has a Cybertronian protoform beneath her skin. It'll protect her from anything that would otherwise terminate a human life and Isaiah is already out of the firefight. I was informed he was to meet with us, but I assume he ran in the other direction."

"Find him! I can't leave without either of my children!"

"Riley won't leave without Isaiah, either. Crimson Flame is waiting for her at her secret place if she's able to leave the battle at your dwelling. And it's also safe to say that Riley will make him find her sibling before he can evacuate your daughter," Shock Burst joined in.

Chief rolled forward to the couple and popped open his doors. "Rightfully so. Your offspring have a close bond together. And I'm afraid I won't allow you to remain any longer. We have orders to evacuate you right now with or without them. Ironhide and the others will make sure they're safe and they won't leave unless they know Riley and Isaiah have been picked up and removed from the area. I realize this must be a trying time for you at the moment, but you must trust us with your children's safety until we reach Diego Garcia and return them to you."

The couple exchanged glances with each other before reluctantly getting inside the waiting vehicle before the doors snapped shut behind them.

XxXxX

Racing out of the house, I let the tears I was fighting back fall freely down my face, not caring who or what saw me. My front yard had become a warzone, forcing me to weave in and out of giant feet and evade wayward shots from alien weaponry from either side engaged in combat. Vaguely aware of anything else besides fleeing the fight, I nearly ran right into one of the Decepticon's feet and getting caught in the metal hand making a grab at me.

"Get the girl! Don't let her get away!"

Daring to look over my shoulder, I screamed and began changing directions and dashed to the left before moving to the right as my new adversaries charged after me. At some points, I would run right at them, stunning them for a moment before darting back in the original direction I was going before I disappeared in the trees that surround my neighborhood. This would provide cover for so long until I would reach the shoreline a good fifteen minute run from my house. I continued on until I could see the lights of the buildings in town and ran straight for it, determined to reach the one place I may have some chance at evading my pursuers.

I pushed myself to run faster than I ever had before all the way to my secret place and made a beeline for the large Peterbilt sitting quietly in the onslaught of heavy rain and deafening thunder.

To say I was wet would be a terrible understatement. I was soaked to the bone by the time I ran past MacKeigan's. Because of the weather, it made it that much harder to run since the ground is covered in a combination of sand and asphalt, which was even worse since I'm barefoot. I tripped and scrapped my hands and knees more times than I could count in my hurry to get to the junkyard.

Just seeing the cherry red and white decaled truck brought me enough motivation to push myself a little further and right up to his side. I pulled on the handle of the driver's door, but it wouldn't budge. Trying again brought equal disappointment in being barred from shelter from the elements.

"No! Please! Let me in! Crimson Flame, please!" I screamed, desperation and fear swelling in my chest to an unbearable point. It had taken me a while to get used to the idea there's giant robots prowling around Ocean Heights, but to know that I exposed my soul, thoughts, and feelings to a group of Autobots that long sat in stasis until recently almost killed me. "I need in! Please! I know you can hear me!" I cried, now banging on the large Autobot's door frantically. "Crimson Flame, I need help! Please hide me! I don't know how much longer I have until they catch me! _Please_!"

As though my words finally reached him, Crimson Flame opened up to allow me inside him and I climbed in, eager to get out of the storm and he shut the door behind me. Climbing into the sleeper part of Crimson Flame, I curled myself into a ball and cried. Hard. Tears I forced myself not to cry over my life and its many frustrations and the confusion of beings more powerful than myself telling me very different and contradicting things on what to believe came pouring out, just as freely as the rain falling from the sky hammering into Crimson Flame's body.

"You came back." The voice seemed to echo throughout the cabin, the masculine voice nearly drowned out by the rain hammering into the large Autobot's chassis and pretty much muted when thunder rolled overhead. It wasn't a question, more like the smoky baritone voice was stating a fact, if not a little surprise finding its way into the delivery of those words. "I had a sneaking suspicion you would come here. You took so long. The others have already left to be with other Autobots."

"Please, drive!" I choked out, looking up to the dashboard in front of me as it lit up and the engine obediently turned over.

"And where, pray tell, are we going?" the mech asked, sounding somewhat baffled at the request yet on high alert. "What is happening in your dwelling? Nothing good if you ran the entire way here to me."

"Those creeps showed up in my house! They threatened my family! My parents are gone and I think Isaiah escaped and hiding somewhere. I need you to find him! He's coming with us! I'm not leaving without him! You got that? Drive! Drive as far away from here as you can!" I answered sharply, the last part coming out as a desperate plea for understanding from the mech and getting rewarded with a quick 'yes, ma'am' as the truck lurched forward and skillfully maneuvered himself out of the junkyard and onto the road leading to town.

"And here I thought you were going to ignore me and leave me sitting beside you in the rain back there," I sniffled, letting out a small grin of my own but it didn't last long.

XxXxX

"Riley, I found him. He's inside the law enforcement building. Should I stop and let you out to retrieve him?" Crimson Flame said curtly, already slowing down so I could get out.

"Thank you," I said to him and I received a chuckle as a response. "But you'd better be ready to put pedal to the metal when I get my brother's stubborn ass out of there and in here," I added before jumping out and sprinting into the building.

"Riley, where have you been? Didn't you hear the weather report say it's going to storm? What happened to you?" the receptionist, Darren, asked, rising from his seat in shock of my condition.

I blew off his comments and immediately demanded, "Where's Isaiah?"

"In Chief Ramone's office asking about you. He was panic struck when he got in here saying there was a break in and he had no idea if you were kidnapped or not," Darren said, pointing to the office in the far right corner of the building and I wasted no time in bursting through the door. Both occupants were shocked at my sudden appearance but Isaiah immediately brought me into an embrace.

"I was so worried! What happened?!" my sibling asked me, but I brushed it off as I began dragging him towards the exit. "Riley? What's the matter? Where are we going?"

"I can't explain it to you right now! Get in the truck!" I ordered him, jabbing a finger at the Peterbilt parked just outside.

"Isn't that the truck from the scrapyard? What's it doing here?" Isaiah watched the vehicle in wonderment but I didn't let him sit on it forever as I proceeded to push him out into the rain and the door opened automatically. "What's going on?"

"Hurry now, you two. The Decepticons are drawing ever closer and they out number us greatly," Crimson Flame warned, getting my brother to blink stupidly before shouting, "The truck is alive?! When were you going to tell me this?!"

"Just get inside the damn truck or I'll kick your ass and drag you inside myself!" I ordered, pushing him again and finally got him inside and Crimson Flame pulled away from the curb and took off down the street, headed out of town.

XxXxX

"Crimson Flame?"

"Yes, Riley?"

"Why did you stay when the others didn't? I blew you guys off for a week or so and you're still here."

"You may not want to accept this, but you saved our lives from being extinguished and sold for parts," Crimson Flame murmured. "I will remain as loyal to you as I am to the Autobot cause until my Spark is extinguished." I blushed, sensing the words spoken were sincere.

Looking over to the passenger seat, I noticed Isaiah just looking out the window and let out a sigh. "You've been quiet for a while. Do you need a break from riding?" I asked him, glancing at him before turning to look out the windshield and continuing to pretend to drive.

The sound of my voice spurred him out of his reverie and finally got him to move and twist around in his seat to look at me. "Is this a dream or something? What the hell is happening right now?" my brother asked, his eyes searching my face desperately for answers. I sighed, knowing I'd have to face the music with Isaiah sooner or later and turned Crimson Flame's wheel to the right, directing him to a warehouse on the side of the road.

"Let's stop here for a while, Crimson Flame. My ass is hurting from sitting down so long," I groaned, allowing the Autobot to maneuver himself inside the large space before stopping for us to get out. "Come on."

The blonde seemed to be set in his ways and didn't make a move to comply. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's going on."

Rolling my eyes skyward, I groaned again and said, "You want answers? Fine. Get out of Crimson Flame and let him explain." When Isaiah still didn't move to exit the large Autobot, I made a sound of disapproval and said, "Fine, have it your way, then. Crimson Flame, if you would be so kind as to help my brother out? Thank you."

Crimson Flame obliged request and began shifting parts around my brother and carefully dropped him on the floor, earning a startled shout from Isaiah as he scrambled to his feet and grabbed my wrist to make me run out of the warehouse with him but the sound of metal on metal and gears whirring stopped him in his tracks to watch the truck he's been riding in take itself apart and rearrange it into a robot standing nearly thirty feet tall, watching us intently with azure colored optics shining brightly in the dark.

"Isaiah," I said, "this is Crimson Flame."

"What is happening?!" Isaiah finally shrieked, his eyes not leaving Crimson Flame as the red mech sat down on the floor and crossed his legs the same way I've been sitting in the driver's seat almost the entire time.

"And here you thought I was crazy, Isa. Crimson Flame is a friend and so are the other Autobots. Right now, it's our mission to reach them to regroup. Optimus and the others already evacuated Mom and Dad, all we have to do is get to them on Diego Garcia and we will be surrounded by allies that are better equipped for these situations," I said, explaining the sort of plan Crimson Flame was given to follow through with when I came running to him for help.

"_That_ shouldn't be happening right now!" he shouted, pointing his finger at Crimson Flame. "What is going on?!"

"You remember my skin falling off to show the metal beneath it? And Ratchet pulling out surgical tools out of his arms? Same principal, only this is their true forms. He told you about that in great length days ago."

For the next hour or so, Isaiah, kept himself at a distance from the massive Transformer sitting quietly near the door but out of sight of any prying eyes. I, on the other hand, finally got used to seeing the Autobot in his humanoid form and took to climbing up his legs and torso for amusement, slipping my fingers into what spaces I could to continue my exploration. My source of entertainment didn't seem too pleased with the fact I'm climbing on him, Crimson Flame's optics not once leaving me as I finally got to his shoulder, possibly worried I could hurt myself or he'd hurt me.

"You humans never seem to tire, do you?" he rumbled, craning his neck to watch me.

"You think I'm bad? Try watching a two year old. They're bundles of energy. By the time you're ready to stop and rest, those little boogers will come at you demanding to be played with," I grinned, leaning over and toying with the side of his head, tracing the alien symbols on the side of his head.

Crimson Flame shuddered, releasing a blast of hot air from the vents on his helm and shuttered his optics. "I think it's high time we left for the rendezvous point."

"How far away are we?" Isaiah finally asked, watching us closely. Perhaps it's only me he's watching since I'm high off the ground on Crimson Flame's shoulder.

Crimson Flame didn't respond right away, choosing instead to reach up to touch the side of his helm and his optics flared brightly before a holographic map appeared in the air before him. Two pinpoints jumped out from two different locations on the map as crimson Flame manipulated the image to zoom in on two States, Alabama and Louisiana, respectively. "Here," Crimson Flame pointed out, "This is our current location." More pinpoints appeared, some red the others a deep violet. "The red symbols are our allies. The others are Decepticons. Ironhide and the others should be arriving here at this location shortly. Chief and the others are already crossing the border into Mississippi with your parents."

That alone got my attention. "They're crossing the border already? How's they get there so fast?"

Crimson Flame chuckled. "I'm assuming either Chief is a little too eager to get to our teammates or he let Metal Storm and Mechacrusher escort your parents and they're playing catch up. Undoubtedly, they're breaking every traffic law you humans abide by."

"The rendezvous is in New Orleans?"

"Yes. It's a very safe distance from Ocean Heights so we can secure safe passage from here to Diego Garcia. Bumblebee and other Autobots are working diligently to scramble our frequencies to ensure nobody can hack into them or use it to pinpoint our location."

Casting a glance over at Isaiah, the blonde didn't seem too enthused about getting in Crimson Flame again, but he seemed to know it's inevitable. "I guess we'll head out in a minute. Give me my sister back so I can feed her before we leave. Riley's a bear when she doesn't eat anything," he groaned, pushing himself up from his seat on the floor and stretched himself out.

The cherry red mech nodded and offered me his hand to climb on. I accepted his offer and situated myself in his palm and lowered to the floor before I jumped off. Turning to Isaiah, I began moving to follow him toward the exit, calling over my shoulder, "We won't be long, Crimson. Call me if the others meet with us here or if Decepticons have caught up with us."

XxXxX

"Yo, Frosty."

Jerking in my seat, I looked up to meet my brother's gaze. "Yeah?"

"Food's here. It's been here for five minutes already. Eat up before the others get here and we have to leave," Isaiah said, nodding toward the plate sitting in front of me. It looked real good, the smell of the burger alone made my stomach growl. The blonde sitting across from me smiled. "Glad to know you're hungry."

In retaliation, I delivered a kick to his shin under the table, earning a yelp of surprise. "Shut up and eat. Leave me alone!" I could just feel the other patrons' gazes on us. We both look like we crawled out of a warzone, Isaiah covered in dirt and scratches while I looked even worse than him covered head to toe in gashes and cuts and that gaping hole in my elbow. "You look like hell," I said finally, catching Isaiah's gaze again.

"It took me hours to do my makeup just for you," he snipped back, unable to keep the smirk at bay.

"How's my hair look?" I grinned, fluffing my hair dramatically.

"Not a strand out of place," he snickered.

Finding the napkin dispenser on the table, I took a look at my reflection in the polished metal siding and nearly died. "Damn! Who is that sexy beast? She looks like someone I know! Oh, right... me." That small outburst made Isaiah snort his drink as a giggle fit came over him.

"Oh, my God! What's the matter with you?! You made me snort tea!" Isaiah laughed, wiping his nose on a napkin before he then used it to clean his mouth. "Why did you say that?"

I snorted. "It's funny! Figured you'd appreciate some humor in this oddball situation of ours," I said, amused over my brother snorting his drink.

"Damn straight."

Halfway through our dinner, a muffled voice sounded from somewhere in the small bag I carried in with me. Glancing up at Isaiah, I silently beckoned him to come to my side of the booth and sat my bag in my lap. "I think I got a couple stowaways in my bag," I whispered, fingering the zipper.

"Open it. Let's have a look," he whispered back. Hesitantly, I pulled the zipper to let us see the contents of the bag, stifling our gasps when two pairs of optics met our gazes.

"Hi!"

We gaped at the tiny Transformers, sparing glances around to make sure no one else could see them before I leaned in and whispered, "What are you two doing in there?!"

"We're coming with you. Blare couldn't fit with us and he's also stuck at the bottom of your bag full of clothes," Chromium chirped.

"Ssh! This isn't the time to start yelling! Stay down and out of sight. We're leaving in a minute," I ordered, gently pushing the two back into the bag and closed it. "I didn't put Blare in the bottom of my bag," I muttered, glancing back up at my brother.

The blonde took a moment to shake off the slight scare he got from the pint sized Autobots before looking around for a waiter. "I think it's time to get lost. I'll pay for this and meet you outside."

"Oh, no you don't! I'm not going anywhere till you're finished paying," I protested, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance.

"Fine. Give me a second and we're heading out," he sighed, finally getting a waiter's attention.

"How's everything so far? Can I get you two anything?" he asked kindly.

"Can I get a check, please? We're done here," Isaiah replied, getting a short answer before the brunette was off again. A few minutes later, we paid the waiter, tipped him, and left, walking the ten blocks back to the warehouse we left Crimson Flame in.

The moment he saw us was the moment the mech transformed, popping his doors open for us to climb inside. "Why don't you two lie down in the sleeper? I will gladly drive for you."

"People would probably freak out if they don't see a driver," I countered.

"True, but it's late at night. Nobody will even notice but you," Crimson Flame replied smoothly.

Seeing as I wouldn't be able to win this argument, I shrugged and climbed over the seat and onto the mattress behind it. I settled down quickly pulling Isaiah along with me and laid down, toying with the strap of my bag before I opened it to let Chromium and Chrome out. "How long were you two in there?"

Chromium looked up, grasping onto my leg to support himself and grinned. "We've been in there this entire time."

I scowled, reaching under the mattress to pull out my bag of clothes and unzipped it. "Blare? Where are you?"

"I'm here," he answered, transforming on top of the clothes I situated him on before I closed him in there.

"Why don't you join Crimson Flame in the front seat and enjoy your freedom to move around for a while? Crimson you're in charge. Make sure these three don't do anything stupid," I yawned.

Crimson Flame moved the rearview mirror in my direction and tilted it slightly. "I'm confused. In what ways could they do something stupid?"

"They're smaller than you. Two of them are only a few inches tall. You do the math," I yawned again, settling down on the mattress once again. "Wake me up when we get there."

We made it to New Orleans in record time, I think. Crimson Flame apparently broke the speed limit the entire way here. The only reason I woke up was the light shining through Crimson Flame's windshield and into my face.

"We've arrived at our destination," the mech rumbled, his voice coming out through the speakers. "Chief and the others are just up ahead with your parents."

That alone was enough to wake me up and I set to work shaking Isaiah's shoulders. "Isa, wake up! We're here!" I said, continuing shaking him until the blonde finally stirred and opened his eyes to look at me.

"What do you want? Go back to sleep," he groused, letting out a loud yawn to prove his point.

"We're here, stupid. Didn't you hear me?" I asked him, giving him another shake when he closed his eyes again. "Come on." With that, I began climbing over the driver's seat to get out and make my way over to them.

Our parents took notice of me and Isaiah's arrival and immediately sprang into action, climbing out of Chief's vehicle form and ran to us, wrapping their arms around me and Isaiah tightly and my brother and I returned the hugs wholeheartedly. "Oh, thank God! My babies are safe!" Mom cried happily, tightening her grip on me when I tried to break the hug.

"Mom! I can't breathe!" I gasped out, finally pulling away from her only for Dad to take hold of me and Mom to grab Isaiah, pulling us back into their arms protectively. "Just because Dad has me now doesn't mean this improved my capability to take in air," I muttered, looking over to Isaiah who looked rather embarrassed at the contact.

Optimus was the first to break the silence that reigned over the group. "I hate to ruin the reunion, but it's imperative that we leave now. The Decepticons may not know where we are right now, but sooner or later they will unscramble the frequencies and once again be able to track Riley's Allspark energy."

The thought of reliving the night before made me shudder. "Then let's get out of here. I don't want to have to go through that again," I sighed, already moving in the direction the Autobots were to board the massive plane. For a moment, I paused, my eyes scanning the interior of the plane for a symbol like the ones emblazoned on the Autobots' vehicle modes.

"Relax, will ya? The plane ain't alive," Ironhide's voice rumbled, making my heart speed up at hearing the Southern accented voice.

I shook my head slightly, knocking myself out of the trance I found myself in and continued moving, settling myself near the spot Ironhide parked himself. For a moment, I thought I should probably say something until I caught sight of a familiar blue and white decaled Ford pickup. "Is that my truck? What's it doing here?"

"It was Optimus' idea to bring it. Since we have jobs to do when we get where we're going, we won't be able to offer you rides everywhere so we thought we might as well give you a vehicle you're accustomed to," Ratchet explained.

_The answer seems logical enough_, I mused, settling myself down comfortably while my family joined me.

It was a few hours of idle chatter between my family members before Isaiah decided to let me join in the conversation and asked, "Hey, what do you suppose life is gonna be like on Diego Garcia?"

I shrugged. "I know for a fact we'll be surrounded by G.I. Joes, but as for what will become everyday life, we'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

**Author's Note: Truth be told, I had a bit of this chapter already written weeks ago, but I needed to finish it. Up next, we get a glimpse of Diego Garcia and Riley has a run-in with more Autobots. But for real, I'm a little concerned about the rating, so please tell me if you think it was enough to say the rating needs to be a little higher.**


	8. Diego Garcia

**Author's Note: KeepingThemAtBay, it's been brought to my attention that you believe I've been harming Riley a little too much in the past couple chapters. It seems I ****_have_**** been going overboard with hurting primarily her while everybody else gets out with a few dents and scratches and cuts. For now, and maybe the next chapter or two, there won't be something to terminally injure Riley and just be her interacting with Autobots and a bit more of her transforming.**

**Also thanks for the info about the rating. It kinda had me worried. Better a high T rating instead of M.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Diego Garcia

We arrived at the base early that next morning and the moment I was off the plane, I was taken straight to the human section of the base. The men practically dragged me into the living quarters of the complex on the other side of the base and away from where the Autobots resided. My family trailed behind me the entire time while we were taken to our private living space.

We had only arrived just yesterday and hadn't settled yet when Ratchet had come and taken me to his med lab for whatever testing he planned to do.

"Riley, are you alright?"

Watching my family from behind the glass wall a number of high ranking soldiers were watching me from, I scowled and looked down at myself. "About as fine as I can be being watched by strangers while I lay around in nothing but a skintight uniform whilst I get probed by an alien doctor," I snapped, getting gently pushed right back down by Ratchet's finger.

"Stay down. I've told you, if you keep moving, the scans are going to take longer. These scans are very delicate and require you to stay absolutely still," the medic chastised me, leveling me with a hard look before turning back to the monitor he was observing. Yet another machine was placed over my head as it began scanning me before an even smaller tool slid out from the side of the scanner and embedded itself into my arm.

I groaned, resorting to drumming my fingers on the medical slab in my agitation. "Are you done yet? At this rate, I'm going to be transforming on this medical slab!" I groused, watching the medic move around the room fiddling with practically every piece of equipment that he was using on me.

Ratchet scoffed. "It isn't going to take _that_ long, Riley."

"I've been here all day, man! I'm ready to go."

"Fine, then. Let me finish with a blood test and I'll send you on your way," he sighed, turning to face me and pressed a button, the tube connecting to my arm immediately filling with the crimson fluid. I groaned, making a face in my displeasure but otherwise stayed still like he asked of me before he cut off the machine drawing the blood and retracted it.

Pushing myself into a seated position, I watched the mech move to the berth he had me lying on and offered a hand to set me on the floor. Once I was on the floor, I began making my way for the exit but paused, turning back to watch the medic before asking, "Ratchet... when you looked in the room to check on us before you were attacked... what did I do that caught you so off guard?"

Ratchet paused, giving me a meaningful look before replying, "Your eyes began glowing. The protoform beneath your skin is beginning to show through more and more. Weaponry being produced without harming you and your eyes glowing blue are signs the protoform is close to breaking the skin. I suspect you will be experiencing what you would call a series of growth spurts shortly. The protoform is only as tall as you are at this time, but it's my belief you may come to be as tall as Ironhide or Optimus."

That made chills go down my spine. "Only my protoform is growing?" I pressed, feeling more and more distressed at what's to come and what's happening to me.

"The more it grows, the thinner your skin is going to be spread out to cover it. Sooner or later, it will rip the skin clean off, but by this point, you will have lost all feeling in your body before your Cybertronian body breaks through and recover what senses were lost," he answered without missing a beat. "I understand you may be distressed over what is to come in the near future, but the other Autobots here, myself included, will be doing all in our power to help you become acclimated to your new body and your new life here."

I nodded a little and thanked him before leaving the room, pausing only when I picked up on new and unfamiliar signals radiating down the massive hallway. Curious, I started off in the direction of the signal, ignoring the chatter of soldiers trying to take hold of my arms and direct me toward the room they're keeping me in to block the Allspark radiation.

XxXxX

"So?"

"What do you want now, Wheeljack? I'm trying to work," Prowl said calmly, looking up to meet the new arrival's gaze only to find practically every Autobot on Diego Garcia crowded around him.

"Tell us about the new human femme on base. Is it true that she's got an Allspark shard in her and brought one of our long lost units back from the dead?" the scientist pressed, setting off the others as they chimed in with their own questions.

Prowl's door twitched in his irritation and cycled air through his intakes. "Yes, it's true she has an Allspark shard in her chest, Wheeljack. But since she's only ever been around Ironhide, Ratchet, and the others assigned to the team to find her, Riley may be a little skittish being brought around new Autobots. She hardly wanted to be around us in our true forms, so I advise for you to leave her be and allow her to interact with the Autobots she already knows and ease herself into meeting others."

Wheeljack frowned. "But the humans have her in their side of the base. How is she supposed to interact with us when she's being isolated?"

"Because she's figured out when she's around the big boys, they start siphoning energy off her and she passes out for a week," a new voice said bluntly, turning everyone's attention to the human male standing in the entrance of the expansive room. The human was no older than the human that gained so much fascination from the Autobots, sporting blonde hair and green eyes, watching them with a look one could only identify as awe of the mechanical beings towering over him.

Prowl nodded his head in greeting. "Isaiah. I trust you are well? How is Riley faring in her new environment?"

Isaiah shrugged, pushing a lock of hair out of his eyes, coming even closer to them and leaned against Prowl's ankle. "She's about as okay as one can be when she's being trapped in a ten-by-fourteen room. Not a lot of room to move around for her. Ratchet took her to his workplace to test her and Riley went nuts! Man, those guards were given a run for their money 'cause she fought tooth and nail to come down that hallway, screaming about someone being here and she was barred from investigating," he snickered, peering up to meet the collective gazes of the Autobots watching him. "There's so many new faces and new scenery, it's overwhelming and she wants to explore and map out every square inch of the island."

"Oh, please! I want to meet this girl! It's not every day a femme arrives here!" Wheeljack begged, leveling Prowl with a pleading look before he and a few others dashed off down the hallway before the tactician could answer. With nothing to do about it but shake his helm, the cop car went back to his previous activity of looking over a data pad.

XxXxX

Staring up at the ceiling, I counted the imaginary bumps in the smooth panels, occasionally reaching up and fingering the air. The plain colors of the room and bare walls made me want to scream in boredom and turned to watch the door. I could hear the guards outside my room shouting, but I couldn't make out a word they were saying over the sound of metal on metal. Pushing myself into a seated position, I anticipated what would come through the door as it opened to show a number of young men on the other side, watching me with fascination.

One of them came all the way into the room and offered me his hand. "Hi. I'm Jack."

I accepted his hand and gripped it firmly, answering with, "I'm Riley. And I'm also aware you're not an actual human being, so why don't you tell me you're real name?" Squeezing his hand tighter, we both jerked as our skin peeled away to show off the metal beneath our skin. My arm was completely exposed while the Jack was shown completely in his true form only smaller.

Excited whispers erupted from our audience as they watched with wide eyes what happened to their companion before a loud pop and a fizzle sounded before a loud thud shook the ground. Just the sight of the unconscious Autobot lying sprawled on the floor made me laugh harder than I have in a long time before moving to stand beside the prone form and studied him long and hard.

But I didn't have time to as the others surrounded me, introducing themselves and asking questions. The overall amount of attention I received was overwhelming as I scrambled to keep track of names and faces and what names went with which faces. I was dragged all over the place meeting everybody I came into contact with, desperately trying to keep up with all the new information I'm being given.

Several hours passed as I was taken all over the base to see all there was to see, only deviating from the course my guides had me on whenever something caught my attention. And that's the exact reason I found myself in a cleared out space, occupied by large structures and rusty cars with targets spray painted on them. The sound of gunfire was what drew me here in the first place, watching with fascination as Autobots milled about with weapons drawn and opening fire on the targets. One Autobot in particular caught my eye as he made plasma bursts rain in his targets with deadly accuracy.

"Looks like fun. Bigger targets are a lot more fun than Coke cans," I commented, eyeing the cannons on Ironhide's forearms appreciatively before pulling out my own weapon and sidling up next to him but with a bit of room between us in case he decided to move. Ironhide acknowledged my arrival immediately, casting a look down at me and smirked.

"Come to challenge me yet again, have you?"

"Hardly. You know I'd kick your ass anyway, so I saved you the embarrassment of losing to a girl."

That got his attention. The black mech squared his shoulders and charged his cannons with a poisonous look on his features. "You can't handle this kind of firepower, femme! Don't think you can come here to challenge me and walk away unscathed!" he roared, stepping forward to tower completely over me. I stood my ground, refusing to be intimidated by him and unintentionally pulled the trigger of my gun, nicking Ironhide's ankle. That didn't go over too well with him as Ironhide shouted in pain at the contact and his holoform materialized in front of me and made a grab at my waist.

"Oh, no you don't!" I shouted, turning away from him and ran, darting in different directions to throw him off. The feel of strong arms winding their way around my waist made me let out a surprised squeal and pressed to Ironhide's chest, blushing madly when the nearby soldiers and Autobots started catcalling and whistling at us.

Feeling the almost steel-like muscles move against me, I broke out in goose bumps as Ironhide bended down to place his mouth beside my ear. "Thought you could get away, did you? One simply can't challenge me and not back it up with action," he growled, keeping one arm wrapped around me and using the other to gently take hold of my jaw and bring me to meet his unearthly blue eyes. "Are you gonna back up your challenge or not? Can you not handle it?"

I blushed, looking deeply into his face and studied him, my heart pounding at the unbearably close proximity to him. "Yes. I'll take you on," I finally choked out, hoping my voice didn't sound as shaky to him as I thought it did. Apparently, Ironhide did notice that slight tremor of my voice and smirked.

"Do I unsettle you, little femme? Have you been never this close to a mech before?" he rumbled, bringing his face close enough for me to feel his breath on my face, making me blush more. "So I _have_ unsettled you. Good."

Finally coming to my senses, I shook my head and pushed him away, flustered. "How about you shut your trap before I shoot you in the head?" I snapped, trying desperately to get a handle on my erratically beating heart and the flush to my cheeks.

Ironhide continued to watch me with a smirk, clearly pleased with himself for bothering me. "Very well, then. First off, to keep losing balance, keep your feet firmly stuck to the ground. Since you're human with a Cybertronian weapon, it would be wise to brace your back against something to keep yourself upright that won't tip over so easily."

Thinking that over, I pursed my lips thoughtfully, but shook my head when his eyes dropped from my face. I scowled, mentally rolling my eyes and screaming, _Males!_ "Eyes up," I snapped, folding my arms over my chest to block his view. "Do you do this with the girl Autobots around here, too, or are you reserving your pervy-ness just for me?"

His head snapped up, eyes roving between my face and that same area he was ogling, giving me a distracted hum as response. "What's that?"

"If you're going to stare at my cleavage, try being a bit more discreet. I'd appreciate it if you stopped your drooling over me," I scowled, walking past him to where a trio of familiar faces stood some distance away. "I swear all you men are the same!" I continued on my path to where the Mechafire and Metal Storm were arguing about one thing or another while Warsaw ignored them, incinerating everything in sight.

"Hey there, short stuff. What brings you to the weapons range?" Warsaw acknowledged, pausing in his shooting to greet me. "Crimson Flame told me the other mechs on the base were excited to show you around, huh?"

I nodded, leaning against his leg, taking a moment to re-familiarize myself with the massive Autobot's presence. "Yeah. It's overwhelming how much there is to see here for me. I think a couple of them are trying to call dibs on me. Decided I need to get with the guys I'm most familiar with, namely the one that reminds me of an ungodly mix of a tank and an all-terrain vehicle. The big boys tend to scare off the smaller ones when provoked enough," I answered, looking up to meet his gaze with a smile.

"You know the human soldiers will be looking for you," Metal Storm said, gently scooping me into her hand and deposited me in the crook of her other elbow, cradling me against her armor right above her Spark chamber. "So... what was that about with Ironhide?"

I scowled, looking up at the light blue femme and blushed. "Shut up. I'm hoping Warsaw will deter him after Ironhide did _that_."

"What's this? Somebody digs Ironhide!" Mechafire singsonged, grinning like an idiot. "How was he?"

The light tint to my cheeks flushed brighter and buried my face in my hands, exclaiming, "Shut up! He was just trying to intimidate me!"

A laugh sounded from nearby, the deep rumbling sound making me break out in goose bumps. "I just knew you'd run to them as if they'd deter me. You can pretend all you like that I was intimidating you, but know that I know you wanted it."

I scowled. "Shut your trap before I shoot you in the foot again!"

"You suck using Cybertronian guns. Every time you pull the trigger, you fall flat on your aft!"

Once again, I found myself in Ironhide's embrace as he reached around me to hold my arm steady and braced myself against his chest to keep from falling over from the kickback of the weapon being fired. We spent the better part of a few hours before the soldiers on the base found me and dragged me back to the human side of the base and away from the Autobots entirely, refusing to even let Chromium, Blare, and Chrome stay with me to keep my energy levels in a safe zone.

XxXxX(two weeks later...)XxXxX

Bored.

That's the only thing I can say to describe how I'm feeling right now. Ever since I arrived on Diego Garcia, I've been kept in isolation, rarely getting visits from anybody and being dragged around the entire base once. I sighed, seeing that this is how my life will be for the foreseeable future...

Until I woke up to find my hair had been dyed a bright blue in my sleep this morning. Since most of my hair is normally put up into a loose bun on the back of my head when I sleep, when I pulled my hair free of the ponytail holder, I found three quarters of my hair had been dyed, leaving the rest platinum like it originally was. Just seeing that in the mirror shocked me and let out a scream of horror before I felt my temper snap. "Sunstreaker! Sideswipe!" I shouted, moving for the door and opened it to meet the gaze of a few passing soldiers, stopping to give me strange looks before continuing on their way. I ignored them and moved down the hallway, following the energy signals I picked up on until I reached the source. "What did you do to my hair?!"

My targets' heads snapped to attention simultaneously and grinned. "Come _on_. All we did was spice up your life a little," Sideswipe drawled out, a challenge evident in his voice to retaliate against him and Sunstreaker.

My eyes narrowed, meeting the cherry red mech's gaze head on and pursed my lips in mock thoughtfulness. "Thought I needed something to spice up my life, did you? I meant getting out of that little box they were keeping me in, not dying my hair!"

"What is going on here? Why is our guest in here and not in her room?"

Turning to face the man, I snapped, "I need to be with them, that's what! They keep me from overloading on Allspark energy!" The man provoking my ire didn't seem to care, being the man that was assigned to keep me in that room I've been staying in. Instead, he tried to make a grab at me only to disappear from sight behind a think black foot slamming down between us. I didn't have time to recover as a large hand scooped me up and lifted me off the ground in seconds before I was deposited on Ironhide's shoulder.

"Feeling lucky, punk? Well? Do you?!" Ironhide roared, cannons whirring to life as he aimed it in the man's direction. There was a tense few moments that passed before the man stood down seeing he wouldn't be able to win a fight against the Autobot. Ironhide's cannons powered down after a few moments and folded into his arms with a smirk. "I thought not."

Taking my time in shifting myself around on my perch some twenty feet off the ground, I began my inspection of the different Autobots on their level. Every one of them had their optics on Ironhide as he kept me where I am and out of reach of other humans, watching him with what looked to be jealousy and envy as they started crowding around him to appraise me. I shifted around on Ironhide's shoulder again, not used to the attention I was getting before I was unexpectedly taken from my seat and held in a new Autobot's hand, making my yelp in surprise.

"Hi, there," he said cheerily. "You're the new femme here, right? There was rumors there was gonna be a femme arriving, but this is even better since there's two now!"

"Shut up, Bluestreak, and let the little femme have her space," Sunstreaker snapped, taking hold of me and depositing me carefully on his shoulder. "Besides, why would she go for you when she could have the sexiest mech on base?"

I blushed in embarrassment at that and made a noise of indignation. "So you're trying to call dibs on me now?! Typical males: see something you like, you think you can stake a claim to it by calling dibs! That doesn't work with me, Sunshine!" I shouted, slamming a fist into the sunshine yellow armor that sent a jolt through the two of us that put Sunstreaker off kilter and toppled over, sending me sprawling across the floor. Instead of the sound of skin slapping against cement, the resounding clanking sound of metal on concrete echoed throughout the massive hangar. I winced at the contact and found I felt heavier than normal like I was being weighed down and tried to move but got rewarded with the sound of scraping metal on the concrete.

"Sunstreaker? You alright, bro?" Sideswipe's voice asked, and I shouted at the contact of hands on my arms, jolting again at the utterly masculine voice that sounded instead of my own. "Sunny?"

"I'm over here, dumb aft! Who is that?" Sunstreaker's voice sounded from behind.

"We're in trouble. There's two Sunny's," Wheeljack groaned, leaning forward to help me up and he, too, got shocked, and surprised shouts erupted from all around me as I forced myself to try and move.

Ironhide seemed to be the first to shake off his scare as he pushed the others aside to take hold of me and hoist me to my feet. "You idiots. It's Riley! The power of the Allspark is trans-scanning us into her," he groused, somehow managing to stay on his feet when we both jumped and made me feel even heavier as the weight of the raven colored armor pulled me down.

I managed to lift my hand to Ironhide's neck in an attempt to help support my new weight and whimpered, feeling utterly helpless and unable to control my newfound abilities. "..." I opened my mouth to try and speak, but nothing came out, succeeding in making me feel more and more helpless.

"What is going on here?! Bluestreak commed me to inform something... was... wrong... with... Riley," Ratchet's voice demanded as the chartreuse colored mech came into view but his words began dying away upon seeing two Ironhide's. "What in the name of the Allspark...?!"

Ironhide managed a crooked grin as response. "Riley is cloning us. She's doing like Mirage and mimicking our appearances."

Ratchet's widened optics were enough to tell me he was surprised as he took in my situation. "It looks to me the more she's around us, the more her protoform reacts to us and adapts. If she's able to mimic a Cybertronian in robot mode, I'd imagine she's finishing her own transformation real soon," Ratchet murmured, coming closer and crouching slightly to look me in the face. "If she's to continue coming to interact with us, I would highly recommend everyone keeping an optic on her."

::Oh, that's nice. Not only am I turning into an alien, now I have to have the aliens I'm turning into watch me.:: I groused over the comlink to the medic. ::What's next, doc? Hog tying me to a medical slab and dissecting me for science?::

Ratchet scowled, shaking his head. "Why open a comlink, Riley? Talk."

::I can't figure that out, doc. I can hardly move without Ironhide holding me up.:: I answered desperately. ::This body is different than what I'm used to.::

"Ironhide, would you be so kind as to help Riley to the Med Bay? I think it's high time I started making adjustments to help her protoform."

XxXxX

Several hours later, I found myself back in the Med Bay, strapped to a table to ensure I don't try to escape during the tests. My family had been brought to confer with Ratchet as soon as they were found and informed of what was happening. Currently, Isaiah seated himself next to me with a laptop sitting beside him and a small cord attached to it, the other end plugged into my arm.

"How are you feeling, Frosty?" he asked casually, looking up to meet my gaze with a grin.

I frowned, sending a short message through the connection. _Weird. Heavy. I'm not sure I like having this extra weight packed on like this._

"Ah, cheer up. At least you don't look like a bear mauled you like you did a couple weeks ago."

That made me smirk, so far only figuring out how to make simple facial expressions as I pondered my answer before sending the message. _How's my hair look?_

"Not a strand out of place!" Isaiah cackled, leaning against my arm. "That sexy beast looks like someone I know! Oh, right! Me!"

"What are you laughing at? Move aside, Isaiah, I need to get to a small compartment in her arm," Ratchet said, gently shooing my sibling away to gain better access to my arm. Taking hold of the area just above my elbow, Ratchet glanced up at me with an apologetic look and said, "This is going to hurt a little. This particular place doesn't open so easily." The resulting pain flaring up at the inside of my elbow, I managed to make a choked sound of pain and groaned.

"How long is she going to stay like this?" Mom asked worriedly, keeping her distance to allow the medic to work.

"I believe I can manipulate Riley's protoform into transforming again but back to her human form. This creating carbon copies of her new teammates is the protoform learning who is who, the protoform didn't grow to our size that quick. The Allspark shard in her chest is granting her an ability to allow Riley to gain and lose mass to take on a new appearance," Ratchet explained, removing the small piece of armor and connected a small wire to it, making me groan in displeasure.

Soon enough after a minute of having the wire in my arm, the heavy feeling of Ironhide's armor was gone. A quick look down at myself showed my body, back to looking human again, to which I sighed in relief. "..."

"Riley? How are you feeling?" Dad asked, coming closer to help me up.

"Fine. This is the only body I can figure out how to talk with," I said dryly, yanking the cord out of my elbow. Leaning into the man's side, I let out a yawn, exhausted from the changing I went through not a few minutes ago. Catching sight of Ironhide standing nearby, I allowed a small smile and asked, "Have you been standing there this entire time, 'Hide? Take a seat and stay a spell. Don't be a stranger."

In response, the weapons specialist smirked and approached the berth I'd been laying on for the past several hours and the familiar raven haired young man flashed into existence before me. "If I'm supposed to stay a while, why are you about to go into recharge standing up? I'd reckon all the trans-scanning and all took a toll on you, huh?"

"I am not! And if I hear about anybody trying to call dibs on me again, you have my permission to shove a flag pole up their ass," I said, yawning again.

XxXxX(two days later...)XxXxX

Wandering the outer perimeter of the base, I smiled at everybody I passed on my way to the motor pool to take my truck out for a drive around the island to pass the time. Isaiah had caught me on my way out and decided to join me. Not that I minded any. I received the company with enthusiasm, having time alone with my only sibling for the first time since we arrived.

"You mind me drivin', Riles?" Isaiah asked, moving toward the driver side of the blue and white truck.

"You got it," I answered, taking the keys out of my pocket and tossed it over the roof of the truck. Reaching for the truck, I paused as a spark jumped from my fingertips to the truck and I immediately recoiled at the shock. "Isa! Did you see that?!"

The blonde was at my side in an instant, frowning slightly. "What was that? You okay?"

I shook my head. "There was a shock! I think..." I trailed off, me and Isaiah's jaws dropping when the truck shuddered as blue static danced across the massive flame decorated chassis.

"Riley, are you seeing this?"

"Yeah."

Tentatively, I reached out to touch the hood and shouted in surprise when the static jumped into my palm, tugging my hand to the metal surface. I frowned, pulling my hand back but found I couldn't. I tried again and still couldn't retract my hand.

"Riley?" Isaiah asked. "What's wrong?"

"Um... I think we might need to get Ratchet," I grunted, still pulling on my arm in my attempts to get my hand back.

::Ratchet? Are you available to come out?::

::Why do you ask? I'm a little busy. What is it you need?::

::I'm stuck.::

There was silence over the connection before the medic came back on asking, ::What do you mean you're stuck?::

::I think my protoform's insistent on taking up a vehicle mode and now my hand is stuck to the hood of my truck. There was a bit of a static shock involved and it feels like I'm being magnetized to it.::

::Optimus and I will be heading to your location shortly. Ratchet out.::

"Riley? You okay?"

Looking up to meet my brother's gaze, I nodded shortly and sighed, "Ratchet's coming. He's bringing Optimus with him." I could clearly see the questions forming in his head and answered the one I figured he'd ask first, "Internal communications. But why he's bringing Optimus, I don't know. I guess backup."

"Ah." My brother left it at that, gingerly touching the vehicle and shrugged when nothing happened. "Do you suppose it's that alien thing in your chest that making this happen?" he asked, climbing onto the hood and sat down, watching me closely.

"How else would this be happening, Isa? There's no other explanation for this," I sighed, still grasping my other wrist.

"Riley, what's going on in here?" Ratchet's voice asked, not bothering to hide his concern.

Looking up at the two mechs, I shrugged and placed a little weight onto the hand stuck to my truck's hood and yelped when I tipped further into it, quickly regaining my balance. "Okay, now I think we have a problem." Tugging on my arm, I growled in frustration that I now had almost all of my arm encased in the metal.

"Riley, what started this?" Ratchet asked, his holoform appearing beside me and checked out my arm. There was no denying the surprise on his face as he inspected me and frowned again. "That's strange."

"What? I didn't even tell you what happened yet," I huffed, following the brunette's gaze but couldn't see exactly what had his attention.

"The driver side door and side paneling are missing. It looks to me your protoform is in fact scanning a vehicle mode though you shouldn't be doing that until _after_ you transform," he answered.

Glancing up at the silent mech watching the entire thing unfold, I asked, "What should I do? My arm is stuck."

"It would seem," Optimus started, "This will only end once you are completely encased in your vehicle. You need to push further into it and the more you do, the more the truck will be scanned into your memory banks for later use. As Ratchet said, the left door and paneling is missing. I'm certain it will be swift if you don't fight it and allow yourself to scan it. The truck will disappear the more you scan it and will more than likely be replaced with a carbon copy."

Looking back to Ratchet for further input, he answered with, "Optimus is right. The more you push into the truck the more it will be absorbed into you and after a while the original truck will reappear and you will get an exact replica of the vehicle when you transform for the first time."

Pushing back my fear, I pressed further into the blue metal and tried to stop when even more of the truck vanished. "I don't think I can," I admitted, feeling rather scared at the concept of doing something the Autobots do so often.

"I would expect nothing less from you given that you're a human femme transforming into an Autobot," Ratchet said understandably, placing a comforting hand on my back and gave me a gentle but firm push into the truck before I could protest.

The whole truck shuddered the same way it did before when I shocked it, the feeling of falling through my truck being one of the oddest feelings in the world. I fell flat on my face as I passed through it, catching a little bit of the action from out of the corner of my eye as the truck was trans-scanned before it vanished. Slowly turning over onto my back, I laid there in the spot the massive Ford truck formerly occupied staring up at the ceiling. "Weirdest. Experience. Ever," I moaned out, screaming in surprise when the truck suddenly appeared over my head, bouncing on its shocks slightly as it materialized.

"Frosty? You alright?" Isaiah asked, crouching down to appraise me under the truck.

I twisted around just beneath the engine and looked up to meet the green eyed gaze of my brother, scowling. "Do I seem okay?! I went through my truck as though it was nothing, then it vanished, and nearly hit me in the face with it showed up again! Don't ask me if I'm _okay_! Sheesh!" I snapped, feeling rather frightened about what just happened. I remained where I was for a moment longer, trying desperately to compose myself before rolling out from under the massive truck and pushed myself to my feet, leaning against Isaiah for support.

Isaiah didn't say anything more, leading me out of the building with the Autobots in tow. "So that's a no go on the drive around Diego Garcia, then?" he finally asked with a goofy grin.

"Shut up!" I sighed, "I think I'm gonna go somewhere and blow up some stuff in the weapons range. Care to join me?"

XxXxX

Finding the titanic black form of Ironhide wasn't that hard, making my way to where he stood with his weapons drawn, obliterating everything in sight. I touched his ankle to get his attention and Ironhide immediately turned to face me, activating his holoform to keep me from straining to see his face.

"You here to try and challenge me again?" he rumbled, unearthly blue eyes narrowing playfully.

I shook my head. "I need to blow off steam. It's not every day a girl trans-scans a vehicle by getting magnetized and falling through it," I frowned slightly, blushing slightly when I noticed his gaze flicked a little lower then back up. "What are you trying to pull right now, huh?"

"Hmm?" he hummed distractedly, his eyes flicking to that same point again and back to my eyes.

I looked away, attempting to find something to focus on and failed, looking back to the raven haired young man and the hulking form of his true self not too far away. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That. What you're doing now," I sighed, smiling slightly when he kept up his unrelenting gaze. "What is it about me you're staring at? You know what? I don't wanna know," I said quietly, turning to leave the range, but stopped at the feel of strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me into an embrace, pressing me into his chest.

"You," he whispered in my ear, sending goose bumps over my skin at the maddeningly close proximity of him to me. "You're just so interesting, I can't help but stare at ya."

Turning my gaze upward to meet his gaze, I froze, stunned at the contact of his lips on my own. The feeling that arose from the contact made me feel as though I were being electrified and closed my eyes for a brief moment before pulling away, blushing. Ironhide seemed to be just as flustered at the kiss, staring wide eyes at me and cleared his throat awkwardly before looking away. I took the time he was distracted to break out of his grasp and run back to the base, refusing to look back even as Ironhide called me to come back.

XxXxX

Wandering the base in search of Arcee and her sisters, I couldn't deny the giddy feeling I felt just thinking about the kiss between me and Ironhide even though it was more an accident than anything. I simply decided to imagine it was on purpose. A girl can dream, right?

A few more minutes of looking finally yielded results as the triplets were standing in a corner of the rec room talking amongst themselves. I settled myself nearby on the wall near them, a light tint coming to my cheeks when I asked, "Arcee, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Riley. What's on your mind?" Flare Up said with a smile.

"It's about Ironhide. We... um..."

"What happened? Did he hurt you?" Arcee asked, now looking a little concerned at my lack of talking.

"We kind of... accidentally... kissed," I whispered, knowing the femmes heard me loud and clear.

Chromia snorted. "How does one accidentally kiss someone?"

I shot the blue sister a somewhat dirty look and replied, "When the somebody you accidentally kiss is maddeningly close to your face and you don't realize it and when you turn your face to meet theirs... I guess you can imagine what happens from there."

Arcee's face adopted a look of understanding and smiled. "He likes you."

I scowled, waving off the comment, but couldn't help the fluttering feeling in my chest. "That's a lie. As a friend? Probably. As something... more...?" I trailed off, the blush coming in full force as I worked up something to finish my thought. "I dunno. He doesn't seem like he really cares."

"Ironhide just has a funny way of showing emotions. He actually liked it when you showed up to challenge him and let him teach you how to use Cybertronian weapons. You know he likes you and he knows he likes you, it's only a matter of who's gonna break the ice," Flare Up said, crossing her arms.

She's got a point. Ironhide does act a bit different around me than he does around other Autobots. "You're claiming he's crushing on me?" I asked incredulously, my mind already racing as the new information was given. My mind went back to a different time temporarily to before the time I found that there was life other than the human race and leaving my only home in Ocean Heights.

"We're not claiming: we know," Arcee stated with a smirk. "You changed him for the better, you know. Ironhide's never behaved like this before and he's benefitting from these interactions with you."

I pondered this, and seeing they are right, I thanked them and left for my room, trying to keep that weird feeling stirring in my chest at the prospect of a new relationship.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, Riley transformed again... sort of. I always kinda liked the idea that Riley's Cybertronian form could mimic another's appearance like Mirage can with his ability to do it, so I guess I had inspiration from him. What did you think of Riley and her trans-scanning her own truck for a vehicle mode? Sooner or later we'll get to see her in her Cybertronian form, maybe in the next three or so chapters, so stay tuned!**

**Reviews are love!**


	9. Learning the Art of Transforming

**Author's Note: I got some relatively good feedback with the last chapter and as you can possibly tell, the pairing I chose to break that four way tie from the poll is Ironhide/Riley since a lot of people who voted on my poll liked the idea of them being an item and I agree they'd be a rather cute couple aside from possibly being with Jazz and Sunny and Sides.**

**I've also been asked if Riley will meet my inspiration for her abilities when she becomes a full-fledged Cybertronian. I'd like to introduce them to each other but I will refrain from them getting to know each other for now since if I were to write him in, Mirage would be OOC to the max. :P I don't know Mirage's personality well enough to write for him but I'm pretty sure I have the other Autobots in character, don't you think?**

**If you guys wanna see Mirage in the next chapter, let me know in the comments and if you know his personality well enough, give me some idea how to best write for him and keep Mirage in character. That would be total awesomesauce! :D**

* * *

Chapter 7: Learning the Art of Transforming

I spent the next month concentrating on figuring out how to transform parts of my body, so far only getting my arms to do so and make my eyes glow that familiar baby blue of an Autobot's optic color. As it turns out, I happened to grow two feet over the course of the past week and a half, putting me at seven-foot-two. Ratchet's become obscenely paranoid of me, whenever I come around, he hovers nearby, watching me like a hawk, making me paranoid myself with the unrelenting alien gaze on me.

Optimus had gotten me and my family access to go around the Autobots outside that limited number from the mission even though we were already doing that behind the government's backs. I had warmed up to them rather quickly after I became accustomed to being around them and watching from a distance, making friends with quite a few of them and frenemies with others. If I had questions, I could find the answers with Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Optimus. Female companionship could be found with Elita, Arcee, and her sisters. Quiet companionship was found with Jolt and Prowl. Jazz, Blaster, and Mirage would let me hang around with them and have a good time when I'm having a bad day. Even Sunstreaker and Sideswipe would let me join them on their prank sprees for a good laugh. Ironhide, Warpath, Gun Metal, and Warsaw would take me along whenever they went to the weapons range to help me hone my skills using Cybertronian weaponry and help me blow off steam. Any others around the base would take me on patrols around the island to pass the time or even just sit and talk with me.

And yet...

... I can't figure out...

... How I've found myself standing on a cliff with the Aerialbots.

"It's just like I told you, while in freefall, you'll find the controls for the thrusters and activate them before you hit the ground. You'll be fine," Slingshot said with a grin, nudging me towards the edge.

Cautiously, I peered over the edge at the dizzying height I was coaxed up to and looked back at my newly made friends. "You know, this reminds me of those days when my granddad taught me and Isaiah how to swim."

"How so, Riley?"

"He would pick us up and throw us in. When we managed to keep our heads above water, he'd give us something called a Heineken," I said shakily, forcing myself not to look down again.

For a moment, the group's optics went dark, possibly looking up what a Heineken is before they lit back up and stared at me. "Your male creator's creator threw those things at you?" Slingshot asked disbelievingly.

I shrugged. "He'd throw it at our heads and a lot of the time it would hit us. That man was a sick puppy."

"Our creator did the same thing. But he just threw us off a cliff and hoped for the best," Slingshot shrugged before giving me another nudge that pushed me right over the edge.

I let out a startled scream as the feeling of weightlessness overtook me and gravity pulled me down, vaguely picking up on the telltale sound of transforming before the team I came with screamed past me. Twisting my body around against the wind, I frantically looked through the different files in my head before I found it and activated it, the feeling of metal bursting through my skin making me let out a scream of pain before I felt myself being thrust forward and even more metal come out from under my skin to cover my face like a mask.

::Whoo! Attagirl, Riley! That's how it's done right there, baby!:: Air Raid encouraged me, followed by the others' voices chiming in my head as I did what they wanted.

::This is amazing!:: I cried out, letting out my own shout of excitement as I gave myself another boost of speed to catch up with the jets.

::You're doing great!:: Silverbolt applauded, banking a sharp right and the others fell into formation behind him. ::Now let's see if you can keep up.::

::Challenge accepted.:: I answered, coming up on top of Skydive's cockpit and latched onto his fuselage, dipping into the airstream being left in his wake.

::Hey! Let go of me!:: he shouted, now banking sharp turns and preforming barrel rolls and incredibly tight corkscrews to try and make me let go. I gripped him harder only to make him take an abrupt turn downward, heading to the ground at a breakneck speed in a kamikaze nosedive into the chasm in between the cliffs they pushed me off of.

::Is that all you got?! Bring it!:: I shouted at him and Skydive responded by turning onto his side so we were parallel with the face of the cliff and edged closer and closer to it before I began scraping against it and lost my grip, falling backwards in an uncontrollable spin as I continued downward. I landed on the ground with a thud, only saving myself from breaking my neck when I managed to get my feet beneath me and my boosters switched off four feet from the ground. Turning my gaze skyward, Silverbolt transformed and landed beside me and crouched down to my level.

"Are you alright? Skydive didn't harm, you did he?" Silverbolt inquired, looking me over for injuries.

I shrugged off his worried questions and grinned. "Haven't you noticed? Human teenager's entertainment always involves bodily harm." It seems that satisfied their questions and stopped trying to look me over for injuries besides the scratched paint of the tiny wing struts sticking out of my back.

"I think it's time we fly back. Ironhide's going to kill us if he doesn't get to see you today. Methinks he's got the hots for you!" Air Raid said, adding the last part in a singsongy voice. I blushed and shook my head, glad the helmet-like covering hid my entire face from view, the only part of my head showing being my hair that had been pulled into a ponytail high on the back of my head, sticking out from a slot in the metal. The fact that the Aerialbot even insinuated what he did just about sent me into a tizzy, thankful they can't see my face or else I'd be teased for the red tint to my cheeks.

"Let's go, guys. I'm outta here," I said finally, once I was sure I could keep my voice level and not sound like a giddy schoolgirl hearing someone has a crush on her... or so I think. Turning my back to them, I recalled which file I had to open to get the thrusters to work in the first place before they kicked in, starting off at a low level of power to get me off the ground and flew off, leaving my friends to play catch up with me.

XxXxX(several hours later...)XxXxX

"You're doing it again, Ironhide."

"Doing what?"

"You're pacing. Relax, the Aerialbots aren't going to do something stupid to hurt Riley," Ratchet said, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the weapons specialist. "They already contacted me to let me now they're coming. As it turns out, Riley is mimicking their flight capabilities and handling it quite well. I think the fun part will be teaching her to drive all over again when she transforms."

Ironhide's gaze snapped to meet the medic in surprise. "She's transforming into one of us? Where was I when she received this news?"

"You insisted on standing guard outside while I informed the family of what to expect in the near future for their daughter and as a family," Ratchet answered, an optic ridge rising slightly as he appraised the other mech. "Why else do you suppose I've been watching Riley so closely since we all arrived here?"

Ironhide shrugged. "I figured you liked her. Ain't like I read that closely into anything."

Ratchet sighed and opened his mouth to retort but the sound of multiple jet engines screaming overhead stopped him. "Sounds like the Aerialbots have arrived back with Riley. Let's go meet them, shall we?"

XxXxX

Touching down on the tarmac among the jets, I let out an excited shout and waved to my newly made friends as I trotted off to the Autobot hangar. The utter giddiness I felt didn't help me at all, but I supposed it was because of what I just experienced. Just seeing the hulking form of the black Autobot I was setting out to locate made me grin and turn to walk over to him.

"You'll never believe the day I've had today," I grinned, pulling my mask away to show my face.

Ironhide tipped his head to watch me as he scooped me into his hand to deposit me on his shoulder. "So I heard. They taught you to fly."

"Man, I was so scared! I thought I was gonna die today! Slingshot pushed me off a friggin' cliff!" I cackled, the look on the weapons specialist and medic making me laugh even harder.

Ratchet was the first to react, snatching me off my seat on Ironhide's shoulder to hold me in his palm, scanning me. "Were you harmed in any way? Are you injured?"

"No, I'm fine. The only thing harmed is the paint on my wing struts. ... Where'd Ironhide go?"

"OW! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Stop it!"

The pained shout made us turn to look in the direction it came from to find Ironhide holding Slingshot in a headlock. I watched the entire episode for a while, highly amused at the sight of Ironhide punishing the younger mech as he was pushed forward and watched me with an utterly horrified look on his face.

"What is it you wanna tell the lady?" Ironhide barked, forcing the mech to the ground again.

"I'm sorry!"

"And?"

"It won't happen again!"

"Ironhide, that wasn't necessary. I'm fine. I just got the paint scratched is all," I giggled, watching Slingshot climb to his feet and run away before the weapons specialist could do anything else to him. My gaze remained on Slingshot until he disappeared into the base before transferring my gaze to the weapons specialist. "You planning to head out to the weapons range? I think I can finally use a gun without falling on my ass," I grinned innocently, noticing the smirk tugging at Ironhide's mouth and offered me his hand.

XxXxX

Wandering across the vast expanse of land, I brought my weapons to bear and braced myself with my feet firmly on the ground and one step away from Ironhide's leg in case I fell backward. Just as I was about to take aim, Ironhide's voice stopped me.

"Ain't you gonna talk to me at all today?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you hardly said a work since we... well... kissed."

I blushed, trying to keep me eyes looking out over the field to find a target. "Why do you wanna talk about that? Wasn't that an accident?" I asked, feeling rather disappointed with myself at the statement.

Ironhide tilted his head to look at me, raising an optic ridge quizzically. "If it were an accident, then why would you react to the contact the way you did? Your heart rate picked up real quick and you leaned in to deepen the kiss." His tone sounded rather smug as he activated his holoform and grabbed hold of my waist, bringing me into an embrace as he locked eyes with me. "Don't lie to me. You enjoyed it," he whispered in mock anger, leaning closer and kissed me again.

Once again, memories of the past surfaced in my head and three faces of my past romances flashed through my mind's eye. My heart sank at those thoughts and it felt as though disappointment weighed me down to the point of being overly paranoid of another failed relationship. I broke the kiss and pulled away from his embrace to leave, giving him a quick excuse as to why I'm leaving but I doubt he heard it and made a quick getaway, running the entire way to my family's private quarters in the base.

"Anybody home? Mom? Dad? Isa?" I called out, walking into the room in search of my family.

"Riley? Are you looking for your family?" a new voice asked, startling me.

Turning around, I found my new companion to be Ratchet as his holoform. The brunette watched me for a while before asking, "Are you alright? Your heart rate is rather high and your face is flushed."

"I'm fine. I just ran the whole way here looking to find my family," I said, following him out of the room and into the hallway. "What brings you here? Looking for me?"

Ratchet regarded my question with a slight smile. "I needed to talk to you. It's about your protoform and the truck incident last month," he said, his voice taking on a slightly concerned tone as he escorted me the few steps to where his real body was parked and opened the passenger door. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to come to the Med Bay with me."

Sensing the importance of what he wished to talk about, I complied and climbed into his passenger seat, the seat belt winding its way over my body and the door shutting behind me. I watched the driver's seat where Ratchet's holoform sat as he maneuvered his true body out of the hallway and made our way to the Autobots' side of the base and went straight for the Med Bay. "What's so important I need to come to the Med Bay, doc?" I asked upon arriving in his workspace, climbing out and allowed him to transform and place me on one of the berths around the room.

"I've been looking over the data I had taken since you arrived. But when you commed me about you being magnetized to your vehicle... I had to go over it all again and I made a few calculations and the result is rather shocking," the medic explained, taking a seat on a Transformer sized stool to watch me on my level.

That got my attention as I gave Ratchet my undivided attention, leaning forward in interest. "What is it, Ratch? I can handle it," I prodded, eager to know what he found out.

The medic answered with a chuckle and a slight smile before answering, "I like your attitude towards this. Now, normally I find humans say one thing and do another, so I want to do something for me. Don't freak out."

My heart began racing at that. "Um... Ratchet? When you say 'don't freak out', that's only going to make me freak out when you tell me what's so important about the truck incident," I said finally, trying to keep my voice level as I regarded the mech.

"The results of the first set of calculations showed me you would finish your transformation in some five or six months. But then you had that run-in with your truck and I did a little more work with the numbers and..."

I swear I'm about to die from suspense. "And?" I prodded, feeling rather antsy at not knowing what's happening.

"You can expect to have more growth spurts very shortly. I imagine you'll be around ten feet by the end of the week."

I paled slightly. "What?"

"When you unknowingly trans-scanned your truck, it only helped speed up the time it will take for you to transform for the first time. Not only did that help, but also when you trans-scan us to give you other vehicle modes and just being around us in general. With us siphoning the excess Allspark energy it helps you and also cuts down the overall time. If we never found you, I would imagine it would've taken many years for you to fully transform."

Leaning back so I laid against the berth, I pondered this for a moment before asking, "Does it also help if I initiate partial transformation sequences?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yes. The end of the transformation process will possibly come by the first of next month."

I left Ratchet an hour after that, thinking it over in my head. One part of my felt excited about it and yet another part felt like I was about to have a heart attack. One month. That's the guestimate for the total time it'll take for me to transform completely. I shuddered a little, suddenly feeling the urge to take out my anger with some explosions. "I wonder if Ironhide's up for target practice," I mused, feeling rather giddy about finding the black and silver mech and learning a bit more about using weapons from him.

I continued on my way to the rec room at a quick trot with an idiotic smile on my face as I neared my destination and stopped long enough to catch my breath before entering. My smile vanished, the undeniably feeling of disappointment and rejection swelling in my chest at what I saw. The mech I was looking for was standing in the corner with Arcee's sister, Chromia, and from what it looked like, they didn't even notice me, chatting away with each other in a rather close proximity to one another that normally wouldn't happen unless they were in a relationship. I stood there a few moments longer, attempting to make sense of what I was seeing and Ironhide chose that moment to look up and meet my gaze.

"Riley! How long have you been standing there?" was his way of greeting me.

"Long enough," I answered shortly, not bothering to hide the hurt in my voice.

Ironhide left his place near the wall, making his way to where I stood just inside the expansive room. "Whatever you think this is goin' on here, it ain't, okay? Riley, don't run from me. Riley!" Ironhide shouted, reaching to grab me as I instead ran away from his hand.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, swatting his hands away when he tried to pick me up again. "Just stay away from me!" That was enough to stun him and I took the opportunity to race away and out of the base.

XxXxX

The noise of the episode between the human femme and weapons specialist had gotten Optimus' attention as the mech decided to come see what the reason was behind the disturbance. Prime found Ironhide still standing where Riley had left him, staring off down the hallway the femme had taken. "Ironhide, are you alright?"

"That femme is making me want to drive off a cliff!" Ironhide groused, cycling air through his vents in his frustration and futile attempt to calm his temper.

Optimus watched his old friend for a few moments as he appraised the situation before shaking his helm slightly. "Allow me to speak with her, Ironhide. Perhaps we will find a solution to whatever is bothering you two."

Seeing no other options, the black mech huffed and crossed his arms over his chest plating. "Fine."

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, wow. I had to stop to have something to keep going on with the next chapter before this one got too long for my liking. And before you go hating on me, I had to throw in a little drama just to make things interesting. I didn't want to idealize Riley's relationship with Ironhide, so... who better to throw into the mix than Chromia, his original girlfriend in Generation One?**

**Out of curiosity, I decided to go through the previous chapters to figure up how many days it has been since Riley and her family headed out for Diego Garcia and I've figured it up to eighteen days. This also includes the night they left for New Orleans to get there. And then I figured up the number of days since people began arriving in Ocean Heights to interact with Riley AND her family leaving for Diego Garcia, so I would venture to say it would be twenty-eight days, which would make the time of year mid-June. I only say that because in my head canon, Riley's school lets out for summer break on May 15****th****.**

**I'm not sure if I have this right or not, so if anybody is up for doing a little math and figuring up the number of days since Riley and her family headed for Diego Garcia (be sure to begin with the night they left in Chapter 5) and the day Transformers began appearing in Ocean Heights to persuade Riley to join their side in Chapter 1. If anybody can give me those numbers, I'll reward you with an appearance from one of your favorite Autobots. :)**

**Reviews are love, people! :D**


	10. Jetfire

**Author's Note: A review I got for the last chapter from a guest named Pat Macken had said they'd like to see some more changes to Riley like giving up eating human food, some more moments with Riley hanging around her family and reactions from her and the family about her changing into a Cybertronian. There was a little something about her needing Ratchet to teach her about Cybertronian anatomy and what they need to function. The giving up human food and a little bit of changing will be covered here, so this chapter is gonna be really long. Enjoy!**

**If you have questions about the story or ideas on how I can make this story even better, leave them in the comments. :)**

**Before I let you get on with the story, I have a poll with the top eleven names for what will become Riley's Autobot name, so be sure to vote! Also, be on the lookout for a second poll to follow the one for Riley's Autobot name to vote for the identity of her Decepticon arch enemy that will debut at a later time. You guys are awesomesauce! :D**

* * *

Chapter 8: Jetfire

Taking a seat on the sandy ground, I folded my arms across my legs and brought them to my chest, resting my chin on my knees. I let out a loud sigh and watched the sky above as it turned darker and darker as the night fell, making the sky pitch black like somebody spilled ink over it. Lightening streaked across the sky periodically as the incoming storm came ever closer to Diego Garcia, but I couldn't care less if it were going to rain or not.

"Riley, what are you doing out here? Were you not informed a storm is coming?"

Looking up to meet the gaze of my new companion, I sighed and turned my gaze out to the sea once again, replying, "I don't give a rat's ass if it's gonna rain, Optimus. I needed a place to think away from everybody. Plus Ironhide's out for my blood."

Optimus watched me carefully before activating his holoform and knelt beside me. "Come inside, Riley. You know Ironhide isn't going to harm you. Granted, he's a stubborn mech, but he just wants answers. Ironhide fancies you, you know. He simply wishes to know what it is that he's done to drive you away from him," he said, his holoform's unearthly blue eyes watching me intently, but I could see the questions burning behind them.

"I saw Ironhide with Chromia and watched them act like a couple. It's just... this isn't the first time I've been lured into wanting a man only for me to find out they're in a relationship, Prime. But... the affections he's shown and that passion for wanting me beside him and making sure nobody else can get near me felt real. I've always had to fend for myself... it's an alien feeling that I have somebody taking care of me that isn't my parents," I said finally, turning to look at the azure haired young man and his true body not twenty feet away still watching me.

The last thing I expected was a small smile tugging at his lips in understanding before climbing to his feet and helped me up. "Ironhide's relationship these days with Chromia is nothing more than comrades. He did have feelings for Chromia but those affections were not returned. But this isn't a story I should be telling you. This is something you need to hear from Ironhide himself. Come with me and let's sort this out between you and Ironhide. He needs to hear it from you."

XxXxX

Just seeing the large black mech was enough to make me freeze in my tracks, feeling uncertain of continuing on my path to where he stood with Ratchet against the wall opposite. I could sense he knew I was near and turned to look in my direction, the icy look he gave me sending chills to my very core.

"Come on, Riley. Best not put it off and let this misunderstanding fester into something worse than the current situation between you," Optimus urged, looking down to me where I stood a few yards behind him. "We must take care of this now. You're comrades and comrades cannot work well together if there is bad Energon between them."

I nodded slightly, keeping up my position behind him and followed the red and blue mech to where our target stood. It seemed Ironhide's gaze followed me no matter where I went even though he was facing Ratchet and continuing their conversation.

"Ironhide, Ratchet, I trust you both are having a pleasant evening?" Optimus started conversationally.

"We're doing fine. Ironhide was just telling me about Riley's first time on the weapons range."

That made my heart flutter in my chest that he was recounting that day with the medic. _Just how much of that day is he telling Ratchet?_ I asked myself, drilling my gaze on a piece of Optimus' flame painted armor, trying in vain not to stare at the weapons specialist and think on the very recent memory of him sidling up next to me and wrapping his arms around me to guide me into the proper stance for using Cybertronian artillery. _I hope he's not telling him that part!_

"Ironhide, you and I need to have a conversation in private. It must be dealt with immediately." Typical Optimus: keeping it short, sweet, and to the point.

He didn't put up a fight as I thought he was going to, instead nodding curtly and headed to the door after Optimus. I trailed behind the two, feeling awkward and out of place among the titans I now know as my friends, listening to them as they talked in their native language as we walked to the room that serves as Optimus' office.

"What is it you needed to see me about, Optimus?" Ironhide's deep Southern accented voice sounded, making me jump as I had zoned out and inadvertently walked right into his leg. I blushed, feeling embarrassed, and mumbled a quick apology before I moved away from him to Optimus' desk and hid behind the leg. "Why is she here? I thought you said this was private."

Optimus regarded Ironhide calmly, reaching downward to gently scoop me up and deposit me on the desk in full view of the weapons specialist. "We _are_ in private, Ironhide. This matter concerns both of you and it needs to be taken care of. All I ask of you is to remain silent and allow Riley to speak." Ironhide looked about ready to protest, but a meaningful look from Optimus kept him quiet before I found myself under their gazes.

"I... I... don't know what to do," I said quietly, feeling self-conscious under Ironhide's unwavering stare.

"It's alright, Riley. He needs to know," Optimus prodded gently.

Taking a breath, I shut my eyes and whispered the only thing I could come up with to sum up what I was feeling. A quick glance up at Ironhide showed he didn't hear me.

"Frag it! Speak up!" he shouted, his trademark short temper already flaring and in turn igniting my own temper and I turned to face the storm head on.

"You bother enough to care!"

The shout was enough to stun him as I jumped off Optimus' desk and onto the floor, the fall not bothering me a bit as I ran for the door and down the hall. Heavy footfalls could be heard behind me and I just knew it was Ironhide giving chase.

"Riley! Get back here!" he called after me, pleading me to stop.

"Go frag yourself, Ironhide!" I screamed back, leading him all the way outside and onto the beach some ways from the base. Quickly initiating my own partial transformation, I activated the tiny thrusters on my back and took off, just barely escaping Ironhide's hand as he tried to snatch me out of the air.

"Riley!"

I ignored his pleas to return, instead engaging my mask to protect my face from the wind and rain as I flew further form the base and higher and higher into the sky above. Choking back a sob, that familiar feeling of helplessness took over me wishing to get as far away from here as I could.

::Riley, it's Optimus. Where are you?::

::I need to get out of here! I only ever came because of him and he doesn't want me to be around!:: I cried, unable to keep the tears at bay. ::Just leave me alone. I'll come back when I'm ready.:: With that, I shut off the comlink and ignored the incoming transmission of the one I was fleeing.

::I know you're listening, Riley. Please talk to me.:: that familiar Southern accented baritone voice beseeched of me. ::At least answer my question: what did you mean by me bothering to care?::

::_Loving a man shouldn't have to be this rough. You ain't the only one who feels like this world's left you far behind._:: I sang to myself, ::_I don't know why you gotta be angry all the time._::

::What are you on about?::

As an answer, the chorus for '_Wasted_' sounded over the connection, serving to only irritate him further.

::Riley, I don't understand! What are you trying to tell me?!::

I allowed myself a small smile as response and played the chorus of '_Every Rose Has It's Thorn_'. With that, I cut off the connection with him, leaving the stubborn mech to figure it out.

XxXxX

"Riley? Riley! Argh! Why is she being so difficult?!" Ironhide shouted, feeling his ire reach the breaking point at his lack of answers.

Optimus wasn't fazed, by now used to the ranting and raving the mech has been doing since the platinum blonde left. "Is something on your mind? Perhaps I may be able to help sort it out."

"She didn't give me straight answers! Only song lyrics!" he snapped, feeling more and more irritated at being kept in the dark.

The other mech merely smiled, listening to each lyric played back from the recording Ironhide had made during his conversation. "Those are love songs, Ironhide. The first song pertains to leaving a damaging relationship. The next speaks of a love that was lost between her and another, seeing it was of no use to try and save it. Lastly, '_Every Rose Has Its Thorn_' speaks of a failed love. Riley is uncertain of opening herself up to a potential new partner for fear of being harmed again as she was in the past."

Ironhide froze, recalling the way she would interact with him and how her demeanor changed when he drew near compared to when other mechs did the same. "I scared her off?"

"Make no mistake that she likes you, too. She simply feels suspicious of letting someone else in that would want to take care of her. Riley wants the world to see her as strong and independent of help, but she secretly wants a mech to be with her, to support her. Ironhide, all that can be done is give her some space and allow her to come to you. Rewards come to those who are patient and if Riley is what you want, it will require patience," Optimus said calmly, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Come, Ironhide. There's no use sitting here waiting for her. She won't come to us when she returns. Riley will more than likely turn to her family for support."

With nothing but to agree and follow Optimus put of the room, Ironhide, nodded shortly and trailed behind the larger mech as they traversed the hallways. "I don't understand. Why use song lyrics instead of saying what she wants to say outright?"

"That's easy. Riley uses music to express herself and talking about her love life does nothing but reopen old wounds," Isaiah's voice said, getting the duo to stop and acknowledge the arrival of the young man. "It's just another reason for the tough girl façade and the big ass truck she owns. Scares off some boys and it's a turn on for others that such a little girl like her can handle that much horsepower."

Without any warning, Ironhide grabbed the young human to hold him in his hand. "You're coming with me."

"Oh, God, we're in trouble!" Isaiah moaned, squeezing his eyes shut and shook his head. "There's two Ironhide's."

Ironhide scowled, examining the blonde carefully before continuing on his way, leaving Optimus behind.

XxXxX(on a nearby island...)XxXxX

Landing on the sandy beach, I retracted my mask and let out a scream in a combination of anger and sorrow, feeling as though the one person in my life I truly wanted didn't want me back and that he would never understand me. "It isn't fair!" I screamed, watching the dark sky as lightening lit up the clouds and thunder rumbled loudly and kicked at the ground to try and let off steam.

I spent the better part of an hour kicking at the sand and screaming in rage before I turned to take shelter among the trees growing further up the shore. Pressing my back to a sturdy palm, I wiped away the tears from my eyes and sat down in the patch of grass and watched the sea crash onto the shoreline.

"What is this? Another fleshling looking to be saved from an island again?"

I shouted, scrambling to my feet and looked around for the voice's source. "Who's there?!" I screamed, my heart now pounding in my chest in my franticness to gain visual of the apparent other person here with me. "Show yourself!" The ground shook and trees moved, pushed to the side to allow  
access to a very large and black form to get to me. Scrambling away from the tree I was leaning on to give the larger new arrival onto the beach room to come further out, I had to crane my neck all the way back to see the towering figure of the Transformer. The black of his armor made him impossible to see save the flash of lightening to give me a brief glimpse of him. But that wasn't why I'm currently trying to get away, my feet firmly planted in their place in the wet sand caught in the gaze of twin ruby colored optics looking right through me.

"Has '_Gilligan's Island_' taught you humans nothing? You would surely think they'd learn not to wreck after that," the larger mech muttered, bending over to make a grab at me. The movement spurred me into action, letting out a scream of terror before activating the tiny thrusters jutting out of my back and took off, pushing myself to fly faster when the Decepticon shouted after me to return. A quick glance downward to the beach showed me the Decepticon in the middle of the transformation process before the sound of turbines whirring to life cut through the deafening sound of the rain and thunder.

"You're not gonna get me! You're not gonna get me! _You're not gonna get me_!" I muttered frantically to myself, screaming when the roar of dual engines roared over my head, leaving a trail of thick black smoke in his wake. We continued this game of cat and mouse the entire way back to Diego Garcia, me staying just out of the Decepticon's reach as he tried to knock me out of the sky as I tried to contact anybody on the island for help.

Just as I came in close enough to the ground, I switched off the thrusters and ran for the entrance to the base, opening a comlink with anybody to get help. ::Decepticon! He followed me back!:: I scouted frantically, jumping out of the way in time for an all too familiar black truck to go thundering past. Watching the truck tear apart and rearrange itself into Ironhide's true form made my heart thud hard against my ribcage as his cannons were drawn and aimed at the even larger mech as he landed on the tarmac a good distance away as even more Autobots soon poured from the base, guns drawn and at the ready for the imminent threat.

The Decepticon didn't even react, simply standing there and watched the Autobots surround him and sighed. Optimus' reaction was about the same as the unknown Transformer before calling off the others, explaining the Decepticon is in fact an Autobot after changing sides.

So here I am, staring the massive Cybertronian, now identified as Jetfire, down from across the room as I sized him up. In the light, he looks more like the Cybertronian equivalent of an old man and he more than likely is with the way the others are treating him. Heck, Bumblebee climbed into his lap and snuggled against him as Jetfire spoke with Optimus.

"Something on your mind?"

A glance upward identified my new companion as Wheeljack, the resident mad scientist as he's so affectionately termed by everybody. Blue optics locked onto my own eyes as he searched my face and sat down next to me. "I normally confide in Isaiah when I'm frustrated, but I can't find him anywhere. Tonight has not been my night at all and getting chased by Jetfire didn't help me in the slightest," I sighed, looking up to meet his gaze.

"Oh! I think I might know where he is. Haven't you noticed Ironhide isn't around, either?"

That alone made me grimace slightly. "I have to find Isaiah by tracking down Ironhide? That's just great."

XxXxX

Isaiah was at a loss. He had been picked up by his new companion earlier that evening only to be left for a while when an alert was sent out only to find it was a new team member. The blonde's companion returned shortly after, taking a seat at the Transformer sized desk to be at eye level with him.

"Can you explain to me again why you're going to attempt this? Why not go to Jazz and have him come up with stuff to communicate with Riley for you?"

Ironhide wouldn't be swayed. "You are her sibling, correct? You've known her longer than I have, so it would be a logical guess to say you know how she ticks."

"Well... that truck you guys brought along with us? That's Riley's truck. She's always had a thing for big trucks and the throaty growl of a Hemi engine. Then there's the guns. I guess it just makes her feel powerful knowing how to handle them," Isaiah shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know for a fact she likes you. She gets all jittery and blushes when she hears your voice or the sound of your engine. If you're gonna try and get her, be patient and use slow seduction. Riley digs that."

A smirk tugged at Ironhide's mouth plating and a sudden warmth swelled from the vicinity of his Spark chamber. "She likes me? That femme seems to like a lot of mechs."

Isaiah returned the smirk with a smile of his own and said, "That's just how she is: friendly, fun loving, and crazy with a touch of PMS and pent up homicidal rage if you get her riled up enough to get her to unleash her wrath on you. The kind of affections she hands out to everyone is different from the kind she feels for you but hasn't quite figured it out yet. Hell, even _I_ can see it! Give her time and she'll come to you. She already talked about it to her girlfriends and I happened to overhear. Arcee is encouraging her to pursue you, but I guess she sees no challenge in you. The trick to get her is showing her a bit of affection and pull away, toy with her, even. If you treat it like you continually gain and lose interest will frustrate her and set her sights on you. She will do almost anything to get your attention and keep it, but don't go crazy if she doesn't immediately let you in. The beaus she was with in the past hurt her, so it's only fair for her to be a little timid about letting a new guy past her defenses. She's only ever been in three respective relationships but didn't last. The best breakup I participated in was when one of them cheated on her with two of her former friends. It actually got rowdy enough to have the cops called and a trip to see Dr. Glass."

Ironhide sat there, processing it all and unconsciously brought his cannons to bear. "I see. Where does the music come in?"

"Well, see, that's going to be a little tricky. Every song that's ever been written has a meaning to it. Picking the right song with the right meaning to it to convey feelings is something Riley's good at. If you play something like, say, '_Whistle_' by FloRida, she would more than likely get offended and never talk to you again. She'd possibly even shoot you in the balls and cut your heart out," the blonde answered, shaking his head. "Be careful with her. There are songs with evident meaning to the song's intent to convey and there's songs that hide those meanings but when you try to look at the meaning you find it's the worst possible meaning to it ever."

"What about the ones she played over the comlink?"

"Breakup songs. Last time she broke up with someone, we got to listen to those songs along with '_Wide_ _Awake_' and other songs of that nature. She listens to stuff depending on her mood as you'll find out. Anger normally brings Bon Jovi, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Black Veil Brides, Shinedown, Nickelback, and Van Halen. Happy stuff brings in Dirks Bentley, White Snake, Kenny Chesney, and more. Whenever she's in a mood and runs away to sit around doing nothing in her fortress of broodingtude, normally means '_In The Air Tonight_' by Genesis on a loop."

"What would come about if she finally decides to take interest?"

Isaiah shrugged. "Man, that's been a while. Riles hasn't pulled out the love tracks for some time, so I guess we'll see when we get to that point, won't we?"

"'_It Must Be Love_', '_Cool Thing_', '_I Want It That Way_', '_Rhythm Of My Heart_', '_You'll Be In My Heart_', '_Honey Bee_', '_Fearless_', '_You're In My Heart_' and many more. That's such a lie you don't know what tracks I play, I've caught you going through Chromium before."

XxXxX

I had just walked in at the tail end of their conversation. Music, apparently being the topic. The 'she' in question need not be named for me since Isaiah was spouting off artists and songs I listened to according to my mood. So I couldn't resist answering Ironhide's question about love songs.

The duo snapped to attention, their gazes falling on me the moment I answered. "What's the matter? Didn't thing you were going to get caught?" I smirked, walking further into the room. "If you don't mind, I need to steal my brother back."

The mech nodded and placed my sibling on the floor. Isaiah took that as his cue to leave and followed me out. We walked together in silence for a while before my big brother sighed and asked, "Okay, I'll bite. What's going on?"

I clucked my tongue a couple time, attempting to gather my thoughts before turning to face my brother. "You're a guy. Tell me if this has ever happened to you: you get a girl to think there's potential for a relationship, but she sees you talking to another girl and then thinks you're already in a relationship," I said, and Isaiah stopped, making a noise of understanding.

"I can tell you it's never happened to me before. You have a sixth sense about that so you would've found out the moment I started acting different," he said, pulling me toward the wall to get out of the way of other people walking up and down the hallway. "If this has to do with you and finding Ironhide talking to the motorcycle chick, he already told me. He wanted me to tell you it was a simple conversation about upgrades to their weapons systems. Now, since you're suspicious of any member of the opposite sex, except me and Dad 'cause we're family, I can see where you're coming from. You're still sore from Daniel even though we nipped that situation in the bud years ago. It's you don't wanna open up and get hurt like last time, but haven't you seen Ironhide has no intention of harming you? Give the guy a chance."

XxXxX

"Oi! You there! Human!"

I continued to sit there, ignoring the larger mech watching me from behind before heaving a sigh, knowing he wouldn't let up until he got a response. "You realize there's more than one human in the room. Be a little more specific."

Jetfire scowled, reaching down and took hold of me between his thumb and index finger and lifted me to his optic level. "You're the one with the Allspark in her chest, are you not?"

I nodded, squirming around in his grip to get comfortable. "What of it?"

The large mech took a seat on the Transformer sized couch and sat me on his lap, leveling me with his unrelenting gaze. "Allow me to help you. I know more about the thing in you than you do and that's a fact."

I shrugged, leaning back against the metal of his leg and winced, feeling something beneath my skin pinch me. "Fine. Teach me. I need to know what's happening and what is about to happen. Might as well listen to the one that knows a bit more than anybody else about the Allspark." Looking up to meet the former Decepticon's gaze, I let out a sigh and allowed him to begin speaking, hanging on to every word he said from stories about the times the Allspark was at large to the account of the battle in Egypt over the Matrix and a sun harvester hidden beneath one of the pyramids and him supposedly dying and being revived. Once he finished, I started my own account of what had happened from my family being in Mission City in 2007 during the battle for the Allspark and somehow being infused with it. I had went on to telling Jetfire bringing life to my iPod radio and DS to reviving a long lost Autobot unit during the times both factions were still in the shadows either hiding on Earth or elsewhere in space.

Before I knew it, it was well past midnight as I listened to Jetfire's stories as he carried me out of the base. I didn't say anything, simply allowing him to carry me down the shoreline of the island. Jetfire wandered down the shore until the base was out of sight and surrounded by nothing but trees.

I took my time looking around but there wasn't much to see, the only light being supplied by Jetfire's optics and the moon peering out from behind the clouds after the storm had ended. "What are we doing, Jetfire? Why are we out here?" I questioned him as the mech gently deposited me on the wet ground.

"Here we can go about practicing honing your abilities to control the Allspark," he explained, watching me intently before depositing something in my hands. "Prime told me you had a knack for overloading. This way you can write down everything until your little episodes are over."

I nodded, seeing it would be a good idea to carry a notebook and pencils around with me. "Okay. Where do we start?"

XxXxX(Ocean Heights)XxXxX

She stared.

The scene before her was unlike anything she could ever wrap her head around. The entire surrounding area was destroyed, large gaping holes in the ground and debris from the house and nearby trees littering the ground. More than half the house had caved in on itself, but the structure continued to stand. A vast majority of the area was burnt, but there was nobody that was found injured or dead the night it happened. It's like they all just disappeared in one night.

Sunny still couldn't believe what she was seeing close to a month after it had happened. She could still remember feeling the ground shaking, the sky lighting up as explosions rocked the earth and what sounded like screams coming from the vicinity of Riley's home. Those burning twin ruby lights she saw amidst the smoke and flaming remnants of her childhood friend's house would be something she'll remember seeing for the rest of her life.

"Sunny, what are you doing here?"

The young woman didn't turn around to regard the new arrival. "Just thinking, Darren. I'm trying to figure out what happened here," she sighed, slowly moving toward the entrance of the house.

"Don't go in there! The structure isn't safe," Darren said, coming to Sunny's side and took her arm. "I'm amazed the wind hasn't knocked it down already."

"Just the living room is cave in. The rest of the house should be fine," she said stubbornly, already walking through the doorway and made for the stairs a few feet away that would lead into the basement. She paused. "You know, I've seen Riley come out of the crawlspace before. What do you suppose she was doing in there?"

"I don't know, but we should leave. The house isn't safe, Sunny," Darren answered, coming down the stairs to meet her.

"Well, stay here, then. I'm going to find out why she wouldn't let me in there," she said, huffing slightly and reached for the door on the left, swinging it open with a creak. "You can come or stay, Darren." With that, she strode into the small room.

There wasn't much to take in, nothing but a few boxes and a coatrack to the left and a smaller entryway she had to duck to get into and keep her head down to still be able to stand. "Darren you got a flashlight with you?" she called over her shoulder, twisting around to watch the chocolate haired young man watching her.

"Yeah," he answered shortly, pulling a small flashlight from his pocket and tossed it.

Turning it on, Sunny directed the bean of light around the room, utterly dumbfounded at what she found. "Darren? You gotta see this."

XxXxX

"Keep yourself relaxed. Focus."

"I'm trying. It's hard to when you keep breaking my concentration," I said irritably, keeping myself in the position Jetfire guided me into with my legs lined up with my shoulders and my arms stretched outward and bent slightly as though I were carrying an imaginary box. Blue sparks danced in the air between my fingers and electricity ran through my body, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake, making me stiffen a little but tried to keep myself loosened up. "I feel like I almost have it. It's insane to think I have this much power pent up inside me," I said, biting back a moan as the surrounding area began glowing blue and little glyphs began racing through my field of vision. "Jetfire! Where's the sketch pad?"

Jetfire dropped the item in question on the ground in front of me, offering up a pencil for me to write with. The feeling I felt in that moment made me feel like I was going to die. I shook uncontrollably with the pencil gripped tightly in my fingers as I quickly wrote down every little glyph, Jetfire occasionally reaching over to turn the pages around or flip to a new page so I wouldn't run out of room. This continued for ten minutes until I stopped, falling sideways to rest my head on my arm in exhaustion.

The mech didn't berate me for lying there, instead picking up my sketchpad and looked over the glyphs. "Do you have any idea what you've written?"

Rolling onto my back to see Jetfire in the pale light of the sun just over the horizon, I let out a yawn. "I haven't the foggiest. That episode did me in. The base is about to start its day in the next thirty minutes or so. I'm ready to sleep," I replied, letting out another loud yawn.

"You've written out coordinates to planets our kind has visited before. Most of these planets are known only by the coordinates, but others such as Linthone, Quintessa, Velocitron and the Planet of Junk haven't been contacted in centuries. I'd explain more, but you look as though you'd rather me not talk at all. You and I will be getting back at your practice again soon. And I'd imagine not only are you tired from exerting your energy, but also the Cybertronian part of you as well. Come along."

Pushing myself to my feet, I winced at how stiff I felt after that episode and trudged my way back to the base after the mech. "Do you mind carrying me, Jets? I don't think I can walk the entire way."

XxXxX

Several hours later I was wandering the base again with Jetfire totting me around in his hand. The mech had brought me into the rec room and more specifically, a machine sitting in the far right corner on the other side of the room. I watched Jetfire mess with the machine as he filled what appears to be a glass cube with some pinkish flowing fluid and filled a second and decidedly human sized one before moving to the couch and sat down. Taking the offered cube from him, I held it above my head in curiosity, fascinated at the light filtering through it and set it down in my lap, tentatively swirling it around.

"Well?

I jumped, almost spilling the suspicious glowing liquid all over myself and looked up to meet the questioning gazes of Jetfire and any other Autobots that paused in their activities to watch me. "Well what?"

"You're supposed to drink it, Riley," Ratchet said, coming to sit beside me with a cube of his own.

My gaze flicked between Ratchet, Jetfire, the others, and the glowing cube for a few moments before asking, "What is this?"

"Energon. It's the fuel that keeps us alive. You should start implementing this into your daily diet to keep up your strength. The fuel your protoform takes from your body will not be able to support it for much longer and needs Energon as sustenance," Ratchet explained.

I shrugged, lifting it to my lips and sipped it, wincing when it met my tongue. I forced myself not to spit it back out, swirling it around in my mouth before forcing myself to swallow, feeling the burning sensation travel down my throat. "It's... um... different," I choked out in between coughs.

Ratchet laughed. "The Energon may not agree with your human form, but it _will_ agree with your protoform. If you cannot stomach it, I will supply you with a pump that will put it directly into your protoform's tank. I can assure you will feel better once you and your protoform are properly fueled," he said in amusement.

"When can you supply me with the pump, Doc?" I coughed, wiping at the tears welling in my eyes from the burning sensation.

"If you come with me, I can give it to you now."

"What did you say?"

Both our gazes snapped up to meet a very irate looking Ironhide staring down Ratchet. "Ironhide, if you keep that up you might blow a gasket," the medic said calmly. "If you only heard about me giving Riley a pump, I can assure you it's for medical purposes."

"You ain't giving her any kind of 'pump', you son of a glitch!" Ironhide roared, lunging for him but stopped when I stood up and said, "You think nothing of it when you're talking to Chromia about 'getting it done' and you flip out when Ratchet's going to give me a pump? Good to know you got your priorities straightened out, 'Hide. I need an actual pump— as in a machine— to put Energon in my protoform's system because I can't stomach the stuff. Sheesh. Ratchet, let's go."

Ironhide narrowed his optics. "I was talking about upgrading her weapons system!"

"Sure you were," I said, unconvinced, crawling into Ratchet's hand to let him take me to the Med Bay, taking pleasure in the frustrated groan that sounded behind us.

XxXxX

Lying back on the berth Ratchet had set me on, I waited for him to hook me into the machine. "Ratchet? Can I ask you something?"

"About what, Riley?" the medic asked, returning to the berth I occupied and began hooking me into the machine.

"Is there anything going on between Ironhide and... Chromia?" I asked, feeling rejected at even asking that question out loud.

Ratchet paused a moment before turning on the device plugged into me and replied, "Well, they did court each other for a while many years back, but it wasn't anything serious. It was more like what humans call a crush. Ironhide loved Chromia, but she didn't feel the same. Why are you asking?"

I wavered, suddenly feeling awkward about what we were now talking about. "Last night, I saw them talking and standing real close to each other like they were a couple. Do you know if they're back together?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "They went their separate ways centuries ago. I can assure you it was amicable."

Sighing, I laid back down and shut my eyes, trying to focus on the feel of Energon coursing through the tube connecting to my arm and, more specifically, into a small compartment in the crook of my elbow putting it directly into my protoform. "I guess that helps. The Energon is really doing the trick."

"Good. I will send you off with a smaller, more portable, machine for daily use. For you to remain in optimal physical condition as a Cybertronian, for now, you must consume one gallon of Energon, one in the morning and another gallon before you go to bed. For every foot you grow, tack on another gallon. This will only continue until you transform."

XxXxX

I hardly noticed the day was almost over until the sun started setting, the world now bathed in a golden hue, helping me calm my nerves. I had escaped Diego Garcia for the time being, roaming the island I found Jetfire on and moved further inland. The ground was covered in a good layer of grass and small flowers scattered across the ground.

"What are you doing here?"

I jumped, not expecting to be talked to. Turning around to meet my new companion, I looked up to meet Shock Burst, one of the few of the Autobots living out of the junkyard in Ocean Heights. "You startled me. What are you doing here?"

Shock Burst shrugged, leaning against a sturdy palm tree. "It's quiet out here so I can process the data I've gathered since you brought us back."

"I hear ya. It's nice out here now that I can see it and I'm not in a hurry running for my life from what I've found to be a senile old Decepticon-turned-Autobot," I said, idly curling my toes into the sand.

XxXxX(Ocean Heights)XxXxX

"What's wrong?"

Sunny shook her head in bewilderment. The room was covered in decidedly alien glyphs, painted on every available surface in different colored paints. The far wall featured two lone pieces of paper held there with tape. She moved closer to get a better look at the drawings to find the two papers were in fact multiple pieces of paper taped together to make one. Every detail on one page would spill over onto the pages above, below, and on either side of it, the meticulous layering of the pages making it almost impossible to tell where one piece of paper ended and another began. "She drew me and... whatever it was I saw that night. It's like she knew it was going to happen and expressed it in a picture," she said, amazement plain on her face as she took in the large image that took up most of the back wall.

The image was of her burning home and a monstrous towering figure with glowing red optics hidden amidst the smoke. A second image beside it featured the exact same figure but now completely free of the obscurity of the smoke in the first, displaying sharp angular points in the silver colored armor, hands ending in claws. One thing about the picture that really intrigued her was the markings engraved into the metal.

"Where have I seen those markings before?" Sunny mused, turning around to face Darren and frowned. "Riley painted them on the walls. The writing is literally on the walls and we have no idea what it means. Now what?"

Darren shrugged, still attempting to take it all in. "I don't know, but we need to get out of here. You'll never know when this place might decide to fall over. Let's go."

"One more thing," Sunny insisted, leaving the crawlspace and strode through the door on the crawlspace's immediate left and into Riley's old bedroom. "Help me find her sketch books. I think it will help decipher what she wrote on the walls," she said, finding a box full of her friend's art supplies and dumped them out onto the desk.

The brunette observed the young woman for a while before moving to help, briefly glancing through every book they saw to find sketches and placed them in the box, taking nearly an hour doing so.

"Riley sure has a lot of sketchbooks," Darren grunted, lifting the box and carrying it up the stairs and out of the house with Sunny close behind.

"She goes through these things like nobody's business. Every available bit of paper is covered," Sunny agreed, nodding her head. "We have work to do. I need to know what those glyphs mean."

XxXxX(on a small island near Diego Garcia...)XxXxX

There was silence between me and Shock Burst for a while before I sighed and leaned against his leg, taking comfort in the familiar presence of the massive Autobot. "Ratchet says I have a month until I transform."

Shock Burst tilted his helm downward to look at me. "Really? What does your family think of this news?"

I grimaced. "I haven't told them yet. I only found out yesterday, so I'm gonna head back and talk to them."

The mech nodded. "You should. It'll be easier for them to find it out from you instead of hearing it from an Autobot," he agreed.

"I guess I should do it now. Better do it sooner than later," I sighed, turning to leave the mech behind to round up my family.

XxXxX

Taking a seat on the couch in my family's private quarters, I heaved a deep breath and let it out slowly, wavering beneath the collective stares of my sibling and parents.

"Riley, it's okay. Whatever is going on, we'll get through this together," Mom said encouragingly, sitting down beside me and wrapped her arms around me.

Looking up to meet her gaze I asked, "You remember when Ratchet told you I was turning into one of them?"

My family nodded.

"The time it would've taken if I hadn't Sparked life into Chromium, Blare, and the others, it would've taken years for me to actually experience what I am now. And with all the overloads I've had and partial changes I've had... it accelerated the time it would take from years to the end of this month."

"When did you find this out?! Riley, you're supposed to tell us these things, not hide them!" Dad shouted, moving to get on his knees in front of me and took my hand in his and gave them a squeeze. I closed my eyes and sighed, leaning into Mom's side.

"Yesterday night. I wanted to be with you guys but Jetfire kidnapped me," I said quietly, feeling arms wind their way around me and pulled me close.

"Riley, the soldiers wanted to have us come and sign some paperwork regarding the Autobots and you. They're wanting to operate on you and get the Allspark shard out of your chest. Ratchet is telling them it's melted into the bone."

Looking up to meet my father's gaze, I asked, "So I'm guessing they're gonna back off about it, then?"

"They only back off because you have Optimus Prime himself backing you up. Plus he has an army that can easily level the island if they wanted to," Isaiah said, taking a seat beside me and brought me into a hug of his own.

XxXxX

Jazz and Bumblebee exchanged glances with each other in bewilderment.

The larger mech standing before them stared back, arms crossed over his chest in impatience. "You gonna help or not?"

"Um... since when were you into love songs, Ironhide?" Bumblebee asked finally, optics wide in amazement at the request he and Jazz were asked of only minutes before.

"I know, 'Bee. The new femme got to him," Jazz smirked, his visor shining brightly in mirth. "I kicked it with her iPod earlier today an' she tends to convey thoughts and feelings through music."

"You do that, too, Jazz," Bumblebee countered, shrugging. "But then again, so do I."

Ironhide narrowed his optics dangerously. "If you're not going to help, I'll just give her something and hope for the best," he threatened, already turning to leave when Bumblebee pounced on his back shouting, "No! We'll help! Right, Jazz?"

The silver mech nodded. "Take a seat and let us do the work and you get the femme. You can thank us afterward."

XxXxX(twenty minutes later...)XxXxX

A soft knock on the door made us jump at the break in silence. We each exchanged glances with each other before Isaiah broke away from the group hug that's been going on for the past twenty minutes to answer the knocking that's become a steady rhythm on the door.

"Can I help you two?"

A second blonde, no older than Isaiah entered the room with the familiar darker skinned young man that is Jazz's holoform, asking, "Wanna go on a walk with us, Riley? It's a nice night out."

I frowned, trying to identify the newcomer, looking him up and down to take him in. "Bumblebee? Is that you? I didn't recognize you since last time I saw your holoform it was a child."

He shrugged. "I only manipulated it to be a child since I've come to find femmes are attracted to Sparklings and we really needed to get you to come closer so we could investigate," he answered, shrugging again and offered his hand.

"I think I'll give you guys a rain check for now. Maybe next time," I sighed, leaning into my father's side.

Jazz shook his head. "That ain't gonna fly tonight. It's important you come now."

I frowned. "What's so important I come on a walk with you now? Does Prowl or Optimus need me for something?" I asked.

Bumblebee and Jazz exchanged glances before Jazz answered with, "Prowl wanted to see you. Needs to ask a few questions to follow up on the report he's writing up for the mission in Ocean Heights."

Exchanging glances with my parents, I reluctantly pulled away from their embrace to follow the duo out of the room. "Where is he?"

"He's outside on the beach. Prowl does that when he meditates."

XxXxX

::Where are you two? I'm getting tired of sitting here.:: Ironhide grumbled over the comlink with the duo in charge of getting Riley.

::She's coming, Ironhide. Give her a few minutes to leave the base. Oh, our cover story was Prowl is needing to talk with her and he happens to be meditating on the beach.:: Bumblebee said cheerily. ::Feel free to thank us for this later.::

::Yeah, man. I'm amazed she didn't question it. Remember to be gentle and don't scare her. She's got a lot goin' on at the moment, if her body transforming into one of us wouldn't be enough stress to a human adolescent femme to go through.:: Jazz chimed in, chuckling.::She should be near your position soon.::

::I see her now. Can't tell if she sees me yet.:: Ironhide rumbled.

::Be sure to give us the full workup on how it went later.:: Bumblebee snickered, cutting the connection before Ironhide could answer him.

XxXxX

Wandering down the shoreline in my attempts to find the tactician, I paused, not expecting to see what I did.

The big black truck was enough to keep me from moving any closer. But not as much as Ironhide's holoform standing there leaning against his passenger door with his arms crossed looking out over the sea. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was waiting for me.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so what do you have to say about that? I had to leave it at this for a bit of fluffiness between Ironhide and Riley in the next chapter. :3**

**Be sure to leave reviews and vote for Riley's future Autobot name, people! :D**


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